TrekToday - the first and only daily updated guide to all things TrekTREKTODAY.COM - View Archives: May 1999

News headlines from May 1999:

Friday May 28, 1999

DS9 Finale ReviewChristian (3:05 pm CST)Yesterday, the incredible Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga was lucky enough to attend the premiere of 'What You Leave Behind' at the Los Angeles Museum of Television & Radio. Jeff was kind enough to write up a detailed report of the entire event:

According to moderator Steve Bell, the episode was finished yesterday so we were definitely the first public audience to watch it.

I'd quote more, but unfortunately almost his entire review is filled with spoilers for the final episode. It is an absolute must-read, though - not only is it the first-ever review of the final episode, it also includes a report of the Q&A session with the actors and producers which took place afterwards. Click here to read his report!

Top Ten Things To Do After DS9Christian (3:04 pm CST)Eon Magazine has compiled a Letterman-style 'Top Ten Things Star Trek Fans Will Do Once Deep Space Nine Leaves The Airwaves.' The top-10 includes some timeless classics such as 'Wondering why girls won't talk to them,' and can be found, in all its political correctness, by going here.

Trek Stars Hang Out TogetherChristian (3:04 pm CST)The great Faith just sent in some info about the whereabouts of some of the Trek stars after yesterday's premiere of the DS9 finale, which she'd heard from a friend:

A friend of mine was entertaining friends at Barney's Beanery, a famous eatery in West Hollywood, and called me to tell me that Nicole deBoer, Tim Russ, and some friends of theirs (people in the crew?) were also there. So that's where many of the cast and crew must have gone after the premiere in Beverly Hills.

Thanks go out to Faith for this!

Transwarp 62 Is OutChristian (3:04 pm CST)Editor Seth Dilday has sent out issue 62 of Transwarp, the weekly Star Trek newsletter which now seems to have gone monthly. As every week, the newsletter contains the air schedules for TOS, DS9 and Voyager, the press releases for some of the upcoming episodes, plus a collection of articles which were collected from the net.

SF Weekly Previews 'New Worlds'Christian (3:03 pm CST)Brooks Peck at the Sci-Fi Weekly has written a report on the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the computer gaming trade show which took place two weeks ago. In his report, he previews some of the upcoming science-fiction games, including Interplay's real-time strategy game 'Star Trek: New Worlds':

Real-time strategy comes to the Star Trek universe at last with Star Trek: New Worlds. This game takes place after the events of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, when the Romulans, as a result of testing a new weapon, have caused several planetary systems to appear in the Neutral Zone. The race is then on between the Romulans, Klingons and the Federation to grab these valuable properties.

The full preview goes on to talk a little bit more about New Worlds' gameplay.

Denise Crosby InterviewChristian (3:03 pm CST)After last week's interview with 'Trekkies' director Roger Nygard, Christopher Allan Smith at Eon has now put up an interview with Denise Crosby, the presenter of the documentary. In the interview, Crosby presents us with her reasons for making the film:

"I think the fans have been misrepresented over the years," she says. "I think the fact I was involved made [the filming] easier. They were a little open and trusting. We didn't set out to make a dig at these people, or embarrass them, or make a freak show. I had been around the world for ten years, visiting these people, and I have a real compassion and care for them. They've bought our tickets. They've made everybody a nice life… and I was much more comfortable being interested in them, and less comfortable in the opposite way, to sit there and kind of be flattered and worshipped or whatever. I find that really not that comfortable for me."

DS9 - The Long GoodbyeChristian (3:03 pm CST)The new edition of Eon Magazine, includes part one of an extremely lengthy 'The Long Goodbye' article. In the article, Edward Gross talks to almost all of the show's writers, who look back on the past 7 years of Deep Space Nine. The article contains the below rather moving quote from producer Hans Beimler:

"My world was being dismantled," claims the producer. "I was talking to Ira [Steven Behr] about it the other day. The first job we did together, the first series, was FAME, during its last year. We were there when they were dismantling MGM. We actually saw the MGM sign go down and being taken off the studio lot. That's exactly what was happening here. The sets were coming apart. You have no idea what that feels like. Imagine somebody coming to your house and saying, 'You don't need this room anymore; you don't need this furniture; the kids are all grown up, you don't need this toy train anymore.' And they start to pack it up and dismantle it. They're coming in here and ripping apart our lives with all the sentiment of a French whore."

The rest of the article has people such as Ira Steven Behr and Ron Moore talking about the end of Deep Space Nine, the unusual roads they've taken, and the true sense of finality for the show. On a somewhat lighter note, the article also contains a photo of Michael Piller wearing a suit and a tie, which can certainly be described as the biggest news event since the announcement of the Final Chapter (all the 'making of' books describe him as always wearing t-shirts and baseball caps). As most other Eon articles, the full article is of extremely high quality, and I really recommend you check it out.

DS9 - The Long GoodbyeChristian (3:03 pm CST)The new edition of Eon Magazine, includes part one of an extremely lengthy 'The Long Goodbye' article. In the article, Edward Gross talks to almost all of the show's writers, who look back on the past 7 years of Deep Space Nine. The article contains the below rather moving quote from producer Hans Beimler:

"My world was being dismantled," claims the producer. "I was talking to Ira [Steven Behr] about it the other day. The first job we did together, the first series, was FAME, during its last year. We were there when they were dismantling MGM. We actually saw the MGM sign go down and being taken off the studio lot. That's exactly what was happening here. The sets were coming apart. You have no idea what that feels like. Imagine somebody coming to your house and saying, 'You don't need this room anymore; you don't need this furniture; the kids are all grown up, you don't need this toy train anymore.' And they start to pack it up and dismantle it. They're coming in here and ripping apart our lives with all the sentiment of a French whore."

The rest of the article has people such as Ira Steven Behr and Ron Moore talking about the end of Deep Space Nine, the unusual roads they've taken, and the true sense of finality for the show. On a somewhat lighter note, the article also contains a photo of Michael Piller wearing a suit and a tie, which can certainly be described as the biggest news event since the announcement of the Final Chapter (all the 'making of' books describe him as always wearing t-shirts and baseball caps). As most other Eon articles, the full article is of extremely high quality, and I really recommend you check it out.

WORST TECHNOBABBLE OF THE WEEK: With so many instances to choose from, it isn't easy. But during the flashback to Rudy Ransom's first encounter with the Alien Piranha Things in the cave, he notes that the creatures were "emitting antimatter." While it's somewhat amusing to envision a ship powered by antimatter-farting piranhas, the science is dreadful, even by Voyager standards. Just for starters, that first fart should have destroyed Ransom, and the backwater bumpkins who called the creature into existence, and the cave.

"The Changing Face of Evil" took another step up, earning an above average 4.5 and rising just under 10% from last week's "Strange Bedfellows." Also, the show just barely missed equaling last year's mark set by "Valiant" (4.6).

DS9 crushed both Xena and Hercules on the week, finishing at least a full point above both of them. Both Xena and Herc failed to make the top 20 and are totally ruined as far as any shot at beating DS9 on the season. In general competition, this 12th place finish from DS9 is quite good, one of the best marks it's put up all season.

The full report contains an outlook for the future, and also some incredibly good news about the show's performance in New York.

Evil Avatar Interplay ScreenshotsChristian (3:00 pm CST)Evil Avatar has just put up two galeries showing some all-new screenshots from the upcoming Interplay games 'Star Trek: New Worlds' and 'Star Trek: Klingon Academy.' The Klingon Academy shots in particular look absolutely fantastic - they're certainly a big improvement over the original 'Starfleet Academy' graphics. The New Worlds shots look a lot less impressive, but, then again, so does the game itself.

Except for the villains, of course, most of the characters were admirable - especially Captain Sisco (Avery Brooks), a courageous, dignified, spiritually minded man whose love for his son was expressed through tender respect. He was not as paternalistic with his crew as the great Captain Picard of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," principally because Sisco's crew members were all strong-minded themselves and also because he was too busy playing father to his son. "DS9" celebrated a community of equality in diversity.

Then, too, how many TV shows (other than science-fiction adventures) really bother with ideas about honor, integrity, and respect for other cultures without appearing either moralistic or merely PC?

In the full article Mason goes on praising DS9, but also includes a preview of the upcoming Babylon 5 spin-off 'Crusade.'

Mechwarrior 3 Spots On DS9 FinaleChristian (2:59 pm CST)GameSpot is reporting that Hasbro Interactive will soon launch a massive television advertising campaign for their new Mechwarrior 3 game, which should start running on the series finale of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Now if only they'd do the same for 'Star Trek: Birth of the Federation' I'd be really happy.

Today on TVChristian (2:58 pm CST)-Tomorrow, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'The Collaborator' at 16:00 BST, followed an hour later by Voyager's 'Meld.' Thanks go out to the Television Observation Unit of the Star Trek Collective for this.

Trek BBS TodayChristian (2:58 pm CST)Lots more discussions will probably be taking place at the Trek BBS after Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga's DS9 finale review, but for now there are already lots of interesting discussions going on, including the following three:

-What do you think about Voyager's fifth season? Was it better or worse than the previous seasons?

-The Borg Collective is a Borg site with a personal view on the history of the Borg, and a Borg libaray, attempting to explain all things Borg.
-The United Consortium of Planetsis a loose alliance of planets consisting of members who don't qualify for the Federation. They join trade, miliatry, and to make large their voice in the Interstellar Community.
-Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Web Page is a ST:TNG site with a chat room, a wallpaper gallery, an e-greetings workshop, links, and much more!

Hello World!Christian (2:57 pm CST)Everyone, go read Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga's DS9 finale review! And after that, post about it on every newsgroup, bbs and mailing list you know! Apparently 'What You Leave Behind' has turned out to be even better than 'All Good Things,' and it'd be really great if the whole net would start buzzing about the DS9 finale being so good - certainly that wouldn't be bad for the finale's ratings once it airs next week!

Thursday May 27, 1999

DS9 Finale Premiere TodayChristian (2:10 pm CST)Today is the big day - the last ever episode of Deep Space Nine, series finale 'What You Leave Behind,' will premiere at the Museum of Television and Radio, located in Los Angeles. The incredibly lucky Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga will be there, and he sent in a list of people attending the screening today. The event will be attended by actors Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Nicole deBoer, Michael Dorn, Alexander Siddig and Nana Visitor, which means the entire cast except for Armin Shimerman, Colm Meaney and Cirroc Lofton. The event will also be attended by producers Rick Berman, Ira Steven Behr Lofton and several supporting cast members, while all those people will also be attending a Q&A session at the end of the finale showing.

On Friday there'll be another showing, but that one won't be attended by the cast. Instead, Ira Steven Behr will be personally introducing the episode.

Fungi headpieces! Apologies for the glut of DS9 cartoons lately but I'm stocking up on Snog comic strips for Aron Eisenberg's appearance at the Sydney FSF convention on June 13 (I'm doing a workshop there so Sydney readers, be sure to drop by to say hi).

Overall, I found myself enjoying a good episode. I am ecstatic for next week and the final two hour explosion-o-rama and the conclusion to DS9, and a bit forelorn. DS9 withdrawal may be a serious problem! There is still LOTS to cover, but after eight episodes the main themes remaining seem doable:

The war. Cardassia's fate.
Dukat and Winn. Sisko's most difficult trial.
The Resistance.

That's about it...and that, to me, seems like a good place to be in after eight episodes...

Bad 'Equinox' RatingsChristian (2:09 pm CST)I have to say I'm getting more and more pessimistic about Star Trek's chances for the future. The Universe has just put up the overnight ratings report for the Voyager season finale, and, unfortunately, the news is extremely bad:

The overnight rating for Voyagers season final 'Equinox' is in, and Voyager did not do well. At 9 pm Voyager got a 5.3/8, thats down 0.3 from last weeks episode. [...] Voyager was 6th for the hour, behind WBs 'Charmed' that got 0.1 more. 7 Days got the same as last week, namely a 3.6/6.

A final rating would be around 2.8 - 3.3.

This is NOT good. 'Equinox' was the season finale, and should at least have gotten more viewers than 'Warhead.' Voyager's ratings continue to go down, and they can't go down much more before Paramount management looses all trust in Star Trek. The franchise is still making money for Paramount, of course, but once Voyager ends, the decision for a new series will in no small part be influenced by the ratings of the only Trek series left on television.

Next year the ratings *really* need to improve - otherwise we the franchise might not be able to live long and prosper anymore.

Next Generation Of Trek GamesChristian (2:08 pm CST)The British PC Zone has put up a report of last week's E3 conference, looking in detail at four of the upcoming Star Trek games (Voyager: Elite Force, Armada, Insurrection and Deep Space Nine: The Fallen). The preview contains several bold statements by important Activision people:

with the gaming market already awash with Star Trek titles from a number of publishers including Interplay, Hasbro Interactive and Simon & Schuster can Activision really bring anything new with them? "We are very exited to bring the drawing power of the Star Trek experience to games worldwide," said Ron Doornink, Activision's top bod. "By working closely with Viacom Consumer Products on the Interactive titles, we will be able to deliver an all new level of excitement and gameplay to the brand"

[...]

with the gaming market already awash with Star Trek titles from a number of publishers including Interplay, Hasbro Interactive and Simon & Schuster can Activision really bring anything new with them? "We are very exited to bring the drawing power of the Star Trek experience to games worldwide," said Ron Doornink, Activision's top bod. "By working closely with Viacom Consumer Products on the Interactive titles, we will be able to deliver an all new level of excitement and gameplay to the brand"

Previews of those four games I mentioned earlier can be found in the full preview. Thanks go out to TrekWeb for pointing me to this.

DS9 Finale Press KitChristian (2:07 pm CST)Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga was kind enough to send me a note detailing the contents of the official DS9 series finale press kit, which he managed to obtain through some obscure way:

Various information, printed on official Star Trek Deep Space Nine: The Final Chapter stationery

Production Information (2 pages)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: A Brief History (5 pages)

A Brief Q&A With the Cast (6 pages)
- What is your favorite episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and why?
- Do you have a favorite "fan story" you could share?
- What, in your opinion, are some of the series' "defining moments"?
- If you had to predict where your character might be and what he/she
might be doing ten years in the future, what would you speculate?
- What advice might you offer someone planning to spend the next seven
years on a space station such as Deep Space Nine?

20 color slides, four of which feature images from "What You Leave
Behind"

Thanks go out to Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga for this info!

Mania Reviews Penultimate DS9Christian (2:07 pm CST)Just one more review after this one and then there'll be no more DS9. Michelle Erica Green starts her review of 'The Dogs Of War' by telling us about her least and her most favourite elements of the episode:

The calm before the final storm, this was a near-perfect episode despite minute appearances by my favorite characters and no guest spots by my favorite recurring characters. I'm reserving judgement on the Federation's appalling willingness to take advantage of Section 31's genocidal behavior by not curing the Founders...forgetting all discussion of moral responsibility, everyone in the galaxy is going to have it in for the Federation when word gets out. Odo's bitterness was well-played but I was bothered that he promised Sisko not to interfere. Why the hell should he not save his people when Sisko's people murdered them? And how can Sisko not expect him to?

The comic Ferengi storyline was a scream, probably my favorite Ferengi episode ever in terms of deconstructing the ideology of that greedy species, but the best lines were Quark's references to other stories in the arc - calling do-good-ism a disease his planet had caught from the Federation and declaring Sisko-style that the line must be drawn here. It's also poetic justice that Rom should end up as Nagus in addition to being real justice for the Ferengi people: unlike his brother, who seems to have learned nothing despite having been involuntarily exiled for a time, Rom has Moogie's social conscience and Leeta's concern for workers and the infirm. Quark ends up exactly where he started, which he's bound to realize sooner or later is a good place for him.

Sloan Starring In 'Roswell High'Christian (2:06 pm CST)Yesterday I posted about a report at Cinescape, which provided the first details of 'Roswell High,' the new series produced by Jonathan Frakes. In the report, they mentioned that the one adult role in the series would be that of the town's sheriff which will be played by
veteran character actor William Sadler (The Shawshank Redemption, Bill and
Ted's Bogus Journey). DangerMom was kind enough to point out to me that this is, in fact, the actor who used to guest star on Deep Space Nine as Luther Sloan, everyone's favourite secret agent. Thanks go out to DangerMom for pointing this out to me!

'Trekkies' Chat Postponed?Christian (2:06 pm CST)This is really strange - the Continuum front page still says the 'Trekkies' chat will be held today, but according to the Auditorium, the chat will be held tomorrow. Regardless of the date, the chat will be held at 5:00pm Pacific Time, so perhaps you should just drop in today to see if it's actually started or not. Submit advance questions here, and get info on how to participate here.

This was a cool season-ending cliffhanger for some science fiction show - not necessarily Voyager, as the continuity problems with "Caretaker" really got on my nerves, but for some other series with a captain who needs to have her outdated rule book removed from her as...trometrics lab. Oh, of course she was right, Ransom's behavior was beyond the pale, and her Kirk-like response reminded me of "The Omega Glory." Still, I could not help laughing at Princess Kathryn's righteous indignation towards John Savage: not only is she a big fat stinkin' liar if she thinks she's never broken the Prime Directive, she doesn't even know that her precious Starfleet is taking advantage of Section 31's decision to commit genocide to win a war she's never had to get her pretty little hands dirty fighting.

Mulgrew Signs On For Season 7Christian (2:05 pm CST)Michelle Erica Green at Mania's Daily Buzz is reporting one of the best news items imaginable - Kate Mulgrew (Kathryn Janeway) has signed a contract to stay on the show for the full 7 seasons. She said this in an interview with WOR-TV in New York, which yesterday aired an interview with her:

Though Mulgrew has been quoted several times recently as wishing to move on, she cited her allegiance to the cast and crew, saying she didn't want them to suffer if she left. She also expressed her belief that Deep Space Nine fans would switch their loyalty to Voyager now that the previous series has wrapped production.

Cleveland affiliate WUAB also quoted Mulgrew as saying that she intended to remain in California for the remaining two seasons, then split her time between theatrical work in New York and her new husband's home in Ohio.

I wonder what the status of Jeri Ryan now is - it has been reported several times that both she and Mulgrew 'want off the show,' though it looks now as if that could just be rumours the actresses themselves leaked in order to get a stronger negotiating position.

New York Yesterdaily NewsChristian (2:04 pm CST)The New York Daily News has put up a preview of, erm, yesterday's showing of the Voyager season finale, 'Equinox.' Actually they put up the preview yesterday, but I didn't find it until today. Here's what reviewer David Bianculli had to say about the episode:

This two-parter, written by Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky (based on a story by them and Rick Berman) and directed by David Livingston, leaves the Voyager crew in dire peril — but also leaves the show in good shape to start its sixth season in the fall.

Insurrection Rental Stays At No.3Christian (2:04 pm CST)The Video Software Dealers Association just announced the top 10 renting videos for the week ended May 23, 1999. No real surprises can be found in the top-3: the top spot is still occupied by 'You've Got Mail,' followed by 'Stepmom' at no.2 and 'Insurrection' at no.3. Last week, 'Insurrection' earned $2.69 million, bringing it to a total of $5.84 million.

-www.trektape.com, which I mentioned as a news item a few days ago already, sells discovered, never before seen, video footage of one of the first Star Trek conventions ever held. These films sat in a shoe box, in an attic for 23 years. It is also one of their las group public appearances. A true collector's item, according to the site.

Hello World!Christian (2:03 pm CST)The weather is absolutely great here in the Netherlands! I don't think it was ever before so hard to get myself to update the site again - with this weather you just want to sit outside in the sun and relax. Still, in the end I was able to drag myself to the computer, so now you can all behold the fruit of my sacrifices :-).

Wednesday May 26, 1999

'Voyager: Elite Force' InterviewChristian (3:16 pm CST)
As part of our special series of reports from last week's Electronic Entertainment Expo, we've put up an exclusive interview dealing with the 'Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force' game. In the interview, Activision QA lead David Fischer and Raven director Brian Pelletier talk about this upcoming action game:

Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga: "So tell me about Elite Force."

David Fischer: "[It's] a first person shooter, but based more on a co-op mode where you're a lead in a commanding force instead of just being a one-man Rambo versus the whole alien forces. The story is [that] the Borg [have] taken your ship and [have] drained all the power and [have] disabled your ship inside of a ship graveyard, basically with a bunch of other ships. There becomes the levels. There are going to be 30 levels in the game. So while you're stuck your object is to try to find pieces on the other ships that will help you... rescue your ship basically. So during that you're going to find 30 different levels with 30 different kinds of aliens, or at least a good number of aliens -- put it that way. All the races that are in Voyager will be in here. This will be one of the most true-to-life games to the TV series that you will get."

The full interview, as conducted by Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga, contains info on the game's storyline, the alien races (including the Borg, Klingons & Species 8472) and the relationship between the developers and Paramount. Find it all here.

Interactive DS9 QuizChristian (3:16 pm CST)The people at TV Guide have put up an interactive Deep Space Nine, where you'll be able to test your knowledge of the series in 15 questions. I made one mistake, unfortunately, when I chose the wrong name for the first ship Benjamin Sisko served on as first officer. You can see if you can do better by going here.

New Trek Books AnnouncedChristian (3:15 pm CST)Marco Palmieri, editor at Pocket Books, has finally updated his 'Editor's Log,' in which he gives new info on some upcoming Trek books he's editing. He gives out some info on the 'Lives of Dax' anthology, the 'New Worlds, New Civilizations' coffee-table book and the upcoming 'Star Trek Trivia Book,' but he also reports about his recent trip to Los Angeles. He was there to meet with the Paramount people, and to discuss some book ideas he had for the next couple of years. Below are the three projects he just announced:

SECTION THIRTY-ONE - four novels -one for each series- telling new stories of each crew's experience with the Federation's black ops agency. To be published in October and November of 2000.

SPLIT INFINITIES (working title) - A two-volume series of four novellas each, exploring alternate ST realities. The novellas will springboard from established continuity and answer questions such as: "What if Captain Pike hadn't been injured?" , "What if Spock had allowed Sarek to die in 'Journey to Babel'?" and "What if Ro Laren had become the Liaison Officer of DS9?"

[...]

But I think the thing I'm most excited about is that I'm spearheading the new creative direction of our publishing program for STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE, with stories that take place after the explosive series finale. I'm really sinking my teeth into this project, working with authors even as I write this to create exciting new adventures involving the Alpha Quadrant's hotbed of political and scientific intrigue.

His full Editor's Log goes into some more detail about the 'Split Infinities' project, but also talks about the three other books I mentioned earlier.

Many aspects of "Extreme Measures" seem grossly out of place. The final stretch of DS9 so far has been woven together into a mostly well-thought-out story that understands the nature of a greater purpose. Seeds are planted, then they grow. But with this episode, we have a primarily self-contained plot that, for the most part, seems to go nowhere we needed to go--certainly not where I wanted to go. What's most disappointing is that Section 31 is brought in as the story's central element, and then not used for what it has come to best represent--an immense moral issue with which our characters must wrestle.

This could've been a great episode. It should've been a great episode. Frankly, I'm a little shocked that it didn't live up to its potential. This has to be one of the most unexpected disappointments of the season.

Shatner's "Life!" is the most forgiving, mostly because Shatner is trying to get us to forgive HIM. According to the repeated mea culpas peppering this book, Shatner acknowledges having been suspicious and dismissive of "Trek" fans for the last 25 years. The title, in fact, comes from a notorious 1986 "Saturday Night Live" sketch in which Shatner played himself screaming at "Trek" fans at a convention.

"It's just a TV show!" he thundered from the podium. "Have you ever even kissed a girl? Move out of you parents' basement! GET A LIFE!"

Shatner would now have us believe that he's seen the Lights of Zetar. Of "Trek" fans he says, "You guys are open, you're warm, you're caring, you're uninhibited, and sometimes you ARE a little weird, but you wear your love of our beat-up, middle-aged franchise like a badge of honor, and you support every single one of us who's ever been privileged to wear a Starfleet uniform. I can't POSSIBLY thank you enough."

He's slightly less positive about 'Trekkies,' though he still thinks it's 'a genuinely uplifting experience for fans.' The full review has more.

"Warhead" is a tough episode to judge -- given Voyagers recent disasterous ratings, you could see this as simply a continuation of a new trend of lower ratings. However, this episode could also be seen as a show which would have scored a much higher rating had it not been airing against the ultimate competition: Star Wars.

In any case, the rating in a vacuum is pretty dismal, as has been the usual lately. The episode scored a 3.3 rating, 5 share. That's flat from last week and down a ton from last year's Season Finale, "Hope and Fear," which earned a 4.1. That 3.3 rating is getting signifigantly closer to becoming the season average, but is now still below this season's usual mark.

Info on Warhead's performance compared to the competition can be found in the full report. I really hope tonight's 'Equinox' will finally do better again - if even the season finale isn't able to bring in higher ratings, it would not be good news for Star Trek's future.

William Shatner will be book signing on May 26 from 7pm to 8pm at in the Westside Pavilion (first floor - street level), 10800 West Pico Blvd (corner of Overland and Pico) in Los Angeles for two of his books... "Get A Life" and "Dark Victory". If you need better directions, you can call Waldenbooks at 310-474-6550.

The idea of Captain Proton, on the show, is that he's a fictional SF
character from the pulp magazines and films of the 1930s. Our Captain
Proton book is an issue of the CAPTAIN PROTON magazine, done as it
would have been in the 30s. In other words, this is an issue of the magazine
that the Captain Proton scenario Tom Paris plays on Voyager is based on.
Think of it as an artifact from an alternate universe.:)

There is a Captain Proton lead novella, a chapter of a Captain Proton serial
novel, a Buster Kincaid short story, a Constance Goodheart short-story, a
couple of articles on the "science" of Captain Proton's universe, a piece,
done as if written in the 1930s, about what the year 2000 will be like, and a
letters column.

If you can't tell already, let me say we all had great fun putting the sucker
together.:)

In a follow-up post, he later mentioned precisely who wrote the stories in the 'magazine.'

Dorn Speaks OutChristian (3:13 pm CST)As part of their special DS9 feature, TV Guide have put up a short video interview with Michael Dorn, who stars as Worf on Deep Space Nine:

In this exclusive TV Guide Channel interview, the Deep Space Nine star reveals his feelings about the ending of the show. For more with Michael, watch his Insider segment on the TV Guide Channel all this week!

In the interview, he does his usual complaining about getting tired of the show and overstaying his welcome, but he also mentions that for him this ending isn't as emotional as TNG's ending was. The reason for this is apparently because he 'wasn't there from the start.' The interview preview lasts just over 40 seconds, and can be found here.

'Roswell High' Series DetailsChristian (3:12 pm CST)Cinescape Online has put up a report dealing with the WB's upcoming 'Roswell High' television series, which now seems to be called just 'Roswell.' As you may recall, this series will be produced by Jonathan Frakes (William T. Riker), and will be airing directly opposite Voyager. Take a look at what the series will deal with:

Colin Hanks, the 19-year-old son of Tom Hanks, has been cast as one of the regular teenage roles in the series. According to the New York Post, Hanks officially got the role yesterday. The tabloid reports that the program's regular cast will be made of seven teenagers and one adult role (hmmm, sounds a little like Buffy). The adult role is that of the town's sheriff which will be played by veteran character actor William Sadler (The Shawshank Redemption, Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey).

Roswell is said to be based on the Roswell High young-adult book series by Melinda Metz. The pilot episode is set in the present wherein a waitress (Shiri Appleby) at a little diner gets shot and an alien being in human form (played by Dawson's Creek's Jason Behr)... who also happens to be one of her classmates at Roswell High... miraculously heals her. This action prompts the authorities to move in on the town to find this alien being… thus the premise of the series.

Have Some Ba'ku BreadChristian (3:12 pm CST)Patricia Mack at the Bergen Record has put up a new edition of her (weekly?) Video Nibble column, in which she provides readers with a weekly movie-themed snack. This week, she gives us an Insurrection-themed recipe:

We see what the Federation observers see: peaceful Ba'ku working together in communal gardens, kitchens, and artisan shops. Everything is done by hand with methods ages old. This hearty whole wheat loaf would certainly be welcome on a Ba'ku table.

Learn precisely how to create a meal worthy of a Anij's approval, click here.

Kate Mulgrew Marries In SecretChristian (3:11 pm CST)'Jim Kirk' just sent in the info that the National Enquirer web site contains a small report on the marriage of Kate Mulgrew (Kathryn Janeway). If this article really only appeared a few days ago, they're awfully late with it, as she married well over a month ago. The article deals with the fact that the wedding ceremony took place in complete secrecy:

The 44-year-old actress quietly wed former Ohio politician Tim Hagan, 53, in a ceremony so secret that the happy couple didn't invite any family members -- including their own children!

"Kate and Tim wanted to keep their wedding day very low-key and quiet," her mom Joan Mulgrew told The ENQUIRER. "It wasn't a slight toward the families in any way. It was just their way of preserving one of the most romantic days of their lives."

Today on TVChristian (3:11 pm CST)-At 9:00pm, UPN will be airing the last Voyager episode of the season, 'Equinox.' Take a look at how the official Continuum described the episode:

The U.S.S. Voyager finds another Federation starship lost in the Delta Quadrant, the science vessel U.S.S. Equinox, and helps it stave off an attack by creatures from another spatial realm. Captain Janeway now has a kindred spirit in its commander, Captain John Ransom, and helps him salvage his war-torn vessel so they can journey home together. But when The Doctor retrieves data from the U.S.S. Equinox research lab, Janeway learns the hard truth that Captain Ransom has seriously violated the Starfleet oath by commiting mass murder in the Delta Quadrant. When she strips him of his command and confines him to quarters, he and his crew manage to escape with the U.S.S. Voyager's advanced technology - and The Doctor and Seven of Nine as hostages aboard their ship.

Note that the above screenshot is of course also copyrighted by Paramount.

-At 7:00pm and at 11:00pm, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the TOS first season episode 'Shore Leave.'

-Tomorrow at 17:00 and at 23:30 BST, the British Sky One will be showing DS9's 'The Wire.' At 18:00, the BBC will be showing DS9's 'The Forsaken,' followed 45 minutes later by 'Dramatis Personae.' Thanks go out to the Television Observation Unit of the Star Trek Collective for that last bit of info.

Hello World!Christian (3:10 pm CST)Unfortunately, at the moment the Trek BBS is experiencing server problems again. Fortunately, we just opened a new account at our web host precisely for the BBS, so all problems should be a thing of the past in a few days, once we move the forums!

Fans of both Star Trek and live theatre planning a Southern California trip this summer have a chance to catch Armin Shimerman ("Quark," ST:DS9) and his wife, Kitty Swink, in a Matrix Theatre production of "The Servant of Two Masters." The period Italian comedy by Carlos Goldoni opens June 26. The play is double-cast, so those wishing to see the couple on stage should check when making reservations. Low-price previews run at 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 7 p.m. Sundays beginning June 10, with the full run at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays until Sept. 5. Sunday schedules include 3 p.m. matinees and 7 p.m. curtains, with no shows July 4.

Aside from ST:DS9 and credits such as Beauty and the Beast and Brooklyn Bridge, Shimerman has also been the recurring role of Principal Snyder on Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Among her many credits, Swink has twice appeared in ST:DS9 -- most recently as the ill-fated Vorta from the episode "Tacking Into the Wind." For prices and reservations to the theatre, 7657 Melrose Ave. just four blocks east of Fairfax, call 323-852-1445.

TrekWeb has learned through various reports that a behind-the-scenes look at the production of Star Trek: Insurrection, being written by Michael Piller, has been muzzled from within Paramount. Piller, who spoke of the project in various online chats and interviews, had planned to have the book published as a treat for fans who wanted to get a real insider look at just what goes into the creation of a Star Trek feature, from storyboarding through release.

But now, word is that executives within Paramount's own Motion Picture Group have killed the publication of the book; a surprising move, considering the zeal with which new Trek-related merchandise is usually embraced by Paramount and its parent, Viacom. Although unofficial, reports claim that the studio justifies the action by saying it didn't want the book to provide ravenous fans with ammunition to discredit its decision-making during the creation of Star Trek: Insurrection. The movie, number nine in the franchise, performed below expectations of both the studio and the fans.

Michael Piller was, of course, the writer of 'Insurrection,' and he would have been able to give an unique insight in precisely what went happened during the movie's production. I certainly would have liked to read about precisely what people such as Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) and the studio execs wanted changed in the movie. TrekWeb has also added a commentary to the report, which I also recommend you check out.

'Trekkies' Box Office ReportChristian (3:13 pm CST)The Daily Variety has announced the final data for the top 60 movies at the North American box office during the May 21-23 weekend, and at the top of the list is.... 'Trekkies,' with a total gross of $105 million! Oh no, wrong SF movie :-). In reality, 'Trekkies' has scored about 0.1% of Star Wars' total gross, scoring no more than $125,636. This places the documentary at the 34th place in the top 60, giving it about $371 per screen. You can find the full top 60 here. BTW, has anyone else noticed that 'The Phantom Menace' has already surpassed Insurrection's total worldwide takings?

Issue 35 of the British Xposé magazine contains a report dealing with 'What You Leave Behind,' the DS9 finale which will start airing next week. The report contains the already usual descriptions of what will happen to each character, but also contains the below info on what will happen to Sisko:

What of Sisko? The word was always that he would become a prophet; however this idea was quashed immediately by Mr Brooks as he didn't feel it was appropriate to African Americans. Hence our good captain and DS9's arch nemesis Dukat fall to their deaths in a pit on Bajor in a scene which rings so many Generations bells it's really not funny!

I still don't understand this. Why would turning into what is for the Bajoras god be more offensive than falling into a pit? The way it's mentioned here (turning into god is not 'appropriate to African Americans') could actually be interpreted as being offensive! If someone could explain this to me, I'd be more than happy to listen :-). Find the full article here.

Phew! After TNG's appauling performance on BBC2 last week, it made a speedy recovery with this week's "Schisms" - making its way into the top 10 at last! It got a viewing figure of 3 million - the best since March 21st! The graphs give the best illustration of this recovery.
DS9, however, was unranked for the third week running. One of the reasons for these low ratings may be that DS9 is currently running head to head with repeats of Friends on Channel 4. For casual viewers who aren't watching the news, it's more likely that they'll choose Friends repeats than DS9 repeats.

Voyager was also back on BBC2 for this week. However, "Waking Moments" may have put a few people to sleep - the 2.06m audience rating was pretty mediocre. Sunday 23rd's double bill of "Message in a Bottle" and "Hunters" should perform much better.
Over on Sky, Voyager's new season was half up, half down - the ranking dropped to #6, but the viewing figure jumped to a good (for Sky) 740,000. No "Extreme Risk" there then.

The full ratings report contains the full results for the past few months, plus a lovely graph showing how the ratings changed over the past few months.

'Trekkies' ChatChristian (3:11 pm CST)On Thursday, the official Continuum will be hosting a live chat with Denise Crosby and Roger Nygard, the presenter and the director of the new 'Trekkies' documentary, respectively. Info on how to participate can be found here, while advanced questions can already be submitted here.

O'Brien To Join Voyager?Christian (3:11 pm CST)CNN'sPaul Vercammen has written an article looking at several long-lived series 'fading into sunset,' which includes the short mention of Deep Space Nine:

"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," having started its voyage in 1993, ends its syndication on more than 200 stations. Could Colm Meaney (chief of operations Miles O'Brien) jump to the younger lost-in-space drama "Star Trek Voyager" (in space since 1995) opposite Jeri Ryan's sexy and popular Borg/human character?

"It will be a while before I get into a space suit again," Meaney says. But if they make him Ryan's romantic interest? "That's tempting ... that might swing it, actually. She looks great."

In all likelihood, this is just the reporter's wacky idea, and isn't at all based on any actual plans. In the unlikely event Meany would move over to Voyager, that would mean he'd be working on Star Trek for even longer than Michael Dorn (Worf), and certainly that sounds unlikely. Thanks go out to Psi Phi'sDavid Henderson for pointing me to this.

Three different game experiences are possible - players can choose from Sisko, Worf and Kira, each with their own storyline and skill set. The actors from the series supply voice talent. About 25% of the action are set on the ship, other action takes place on far-off planets - thirteen environments span twelve planned missions. Starship Defiant floor plans from the series were translated into the games - Star Trek fetishists will enjoy the ability to explore the ship - other gamers will probably want to skip this feature altogether.

From what we could see, gameplay looked streamlined - the use of inverse kinematics made for smooth movements, and a higher polygon count was implemented for the faces of the characters, to facilitate better speech simulation, though at this phase sound has yet to be added. The environs are dark, punctuated by excellent lighting effects.

You can find the full preview (which also includes a set of all-new screenshots) by going here. Thanks go out to Star Trek Gaming Central for pointing me to this.

Cinescape Spoils 'The Dogs Of War'Christian (3:10 pm CST)At Cinescape Online, regular contributor Michael Marek has returned once again with his spoiler-packed look at the upcoming DS9 episode, 'The Dogs of War.' If you still want to enjoy the penultimate DS9 episode, I wouldn't advise reading it, but if you do want to be spoiled, you can find Marek's report at Cinescape.

PC Action BotF ReviewChristian (3:10 pm CST)Extremely bad news for fans of the new 'Birth of the Federation' strategy game. The new June issue of PC Action, a German games magazine, contains a review of Microprose's turn-based strategy game, in which it is awarded no more than 68%. Take a look at what reviewer Alexander Geltenpoth had to say about the game in his summary of the review:

When Microprose announced 'Birth of the Federation,' I was really looking forward to the game. Master of Orion 2 with current technology and the Star Trek background, what more could one want? But then came the huge disappointment: Why wasn't Microprose able to put all the relevant information on the colonies on one screen? An hour gameplay now exists of 40 minutes of banal system administration, and just 20 minutes of strategy. That's when the fun ends! And when the 3D battles offer almost no tactical options, at least the graphics should convince.

Even when the other features have been improved since Master of Orion 2 (just like in all other space strategy games), and even when the Star Trek license boldly tries to give some support, it isn't enough anymore for a good game.

If the above text isn't all too clear, that's completely my fault - unfortunately neither German nor English is my native language, so I'm not too sure about how well I was able to translate this. In any case, this is really bad news for 'Birth of the Federation' - PC Action has always been a strong supporter of the game (they had two features on it, and even a cover dedicated to it a few months ago), and when even they don't like it, that means a lot. Let's hope other reviewers will be more positive.

Trekkies: Get WiredChristian (3:09 pm CST)Joyce Slaton at Wired has put up an article dealing with the new 'Trekkies' documentary, which she thinks is 'a laugh and a half,' but also 'guaranteed to offend fans.' In her article, she tries to avoid being offensive, and even includes the below info block about the distinction between 'Trekkies' and 'Trekkers:'

Editor's note: Even in the film, people disagree over the distinction between Trekkies and Trekkers. Some people consider fans of the original "Star Trek" TV series Trekkies, and name fans of the new Star Trek films and TV series Trekkers. Others reserve the term Trekkies for people who are seemingly obsessed with Star Trek in all its forms, and refer to fans who "have lives" as Trekkers. In this article, Trekker is used for all Star Trek fans.

Amusingly, after this quote the word 'Trekker' isn't even used once :-). The full article contains a review of the documentary, in the end still calling it a 'lot of fun,' but offensive.

Shatner Campaigning For Return?Christian (3:09 pm CST)Soundcage just posted a message to the rec.arts.startrek.current newsgroup, mentioning that William Shatner (James T. Kirk) recently appeared on the Regis and Kathy Lee talk show. Shatner was on the show to promote his new book 'Get A Life!', but apparently he also mentioned he continues to lobby for the return of James T. Kirk. According to soundcage, Shatner said something along the lines of 'if the folks at Paramount are smart, they'd bring [Kirk] back.' When asked how, he mentioned something about Kirk still
floating in the 'ether out there' (probably a reference to the Nexus from 'Generations.') Major thanks go out to soundcage for posting about this.
Meanwhile, you might want to check out BringBackKirk.com if you're also interested in Kirk's return.

Star Trek Trivia Challenge?Christian (3:08 pm CST)Sound Source Interactive, the struggling publisher of several media tie-in CD-Roms, just announced its financial results for the third fiscal quarter ended March 31, 1999. The past three months weren't that good for the company - losses increased, and the company's stocks may soon be delisted at Nasdaq due to bad performace. In the press release, however, CEO Vincent Bitetti commented that over the next 18 months, they'll be releasing several new 'evergreens,' including a project called 'Star Trek: Trivia Challenge.' More info about this title isn't yet available, but my guess is it'll be something like the 'Star Trek Game Show,' which was also created by Sound Source Interactive.

Happy Birthday Susan Diol!Christian (3:07 pm CST)Today is the 35th birthday of Susan Diol, the actress who guest starred as the Doctor's love interest Dr. Danara Pel in the Voyager episodes 'Lifesigns' and 'Resolutions.' Her role as Danara Pel wasn't her first appearance on Trek, though, as she also guest starred as Carmen Davila in TNG's 'Silicon Avatar.' Over the last few years, she has apparently stopped acting - her filmography at the IMDB lists her last appearance as being in 1997, on an episode of 'Diagnosis: Murder.'

Today on TVChristian (3:05 pm CST)-At 8:00pm, NBC will be airing the season finale of the sci-fi comedy 'Third Rock From The Sun,' guest starring William Shatner as 'Big Giant Head' (what a surprise)

-At 7:00pm and at 11:00pm Eastern Time, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the first-season TOS episode 'Balance of Terror,' which includes the very first ever appearance of the Romulans and their cloaking devices.

-Tomorrow at 17:00 and at 23:30 BST, British Sky One will be showing 'The Maquis, Part Two.'

-Quadrant V is an untouched neutral outpost in the Gamma Quadrant. It is a PBeM sim with a difference, come and find out why! They welcome simming ships to dock with us. Timeline : Dominion-federation war.

Hello World!Christian (3:04 pm CST)Just my luck - yesterday I sent out news submissions about Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga's Star Trek: Armada preview to every gaming site under the sun, and exactly this morning the site statistics refused to update! Aaargh!

Monday May 24, 1999

'Star Trek: Armada' Designer InterviewChristian (1:35 pm CST)As part of our special series of reports from last week's Electronic Entertainment Expo, we've just put up an exclusive interview with Dr. Ian Lane Davis, the lead programmer for Activision's upcoming real-time strategy game 'Star Trek: Armada.' Take a look at a short quote from the interview, in which Davis gives an overall description of the game:

Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga: "So tell me about Armada."

Ian Davis: "It's a real-time strategy game set in the Star Trek: The Next Generation universe. We're on the cutting-edge timeline. So we're current with everything. We talk to Paramount every week about development. In addition, we have a few new ships and elements that we're introducing into the Star Trek canon. We go through Paramount and through their approval process. They've been just absolutely wonderful to work with. The game features Federation, Borg, Klingon, and Romulans. We have voiceovers in the game and in our cutscenes from Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn, and even Denise Crosby as Sela."

In the full interview, Davis talks about the game's storyline, Paramount's new policy towards licensed games, all the races you'll be able to play as, and some info on editing the game. Find it all here!

The plot of "Relativity" is like some sort of comic maze. By the end, the madness has grown so absurd that the characters can barely restrain their grins of bemusement. This is Star Trek sci-fi on crack.

About 3 months ago my husband was going
through his belongings from his childhood home and discovered footage taken
at one of the first Star Trek conventions. After viewing the material we
decided to preserve and market it with Star Trek fans all over the world. For
more info, please visit my web site at www.startrekvideo.com. This URL is a
temporary address. It will be changed on either Monday or Tuesday to
www.trektape.com.

MYSTERY OF THE WEEK: I'm afraid I don't see any point to having artificial intelligence in a bomb. It seems like entirely too much trouble and too fraught with potential problems, like, in this case, the bombs "not believing" their recall orders. Good old fashioned dumb bombs would seem to work just fine.

MYSTERY OF THE WEEK RUNNER-UP: Strange that the "enemy race" didn't react at all to the presence of this fleet of bombs within their defense perimeter. This is a blessing in disguise though, because it meant we avoided another "Voyager attacked by surly forehead aliens" scene, since one was more than enough.

What's interesting is that there was an apparent incident
reported in the news lately where some Star Trek fans showed up en
masse to picket and pick a fight with a line of Star Wars fans waiting
to get into a screening of TPW because they didn't like the publicity
SW was getting.

The £one En§ign just told me he also saw this being reported on the news, so it's probably true. It's also one of the saddest news items I've heard in a long time - if 'Trekkies' hasn't already completely destroyed the public image of Trek fans, it certainly is completely shattered now.

Voyager 7th Season NewsChristian (1:33 pm CST)No, this is not a typo, there really *is* news of Voyager's 7th season to be found here, even though the 5th season isn't even over yet. Michael Iversen at the Universe has posted a convention report dealing with an Australian convention:

Duncan Burbidge [attended] a convention in Adelaide, among the guests was Garret Wang, wo confirmed that Kate Mulgrew and Jeri Ryan were signed on for season 6 but were in negotiations for season 7. The other cast members he said were signed on until the end.

Over the past few weeks there have been very persistent rumours that both Kate Mulgrew (Kathryn Janeway) and Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine) want off the show. Hopefully those are just rumours that were leaked by the actresses themselves (in order to have a stronger position during the negotiations), as I doubt Voyager would be able to survive without its two main attractions.

Where to begin.
Or should I say, when to begin.
Some reviews practically write themselves. Some beg to be written.
Others mockingly dare my to try.
This was one of the latter.

I enjoyed the episode when I first watched it, though there are holes large enough to hold Amazon.com's entire inventory. It was "fun," and played for "fun." But if you spend any time at all thinking about it, forget it.

In the end, he does manage to write a small analysis (and the usual huge synopsis), and ends up awarding the episode 2.5 out of 4 stars in his review.

The opening of DS9's sixth season had the Cardassian/Dominion alliance occupying the station and Starfleet waging a desperately defensive war. A great deal of that arc worked very well, but about halfway into it we got a show entitled "Sons and Daughters" which felt jarringly out of place. The authors? Bradley Thompson and David Weddle, who up until that point had written material which rose well above its premise, like "The Assignment" and "Business as Usual".

Now, with only a few hours of DS9 left before the series closes its doors forever, we're seeing history repeat itself. While the ideas behind "Extreme Measures" fit into this arc better than "Sons and Daughters" shoehorned itself into the Occupation Arc, if anything it's got even more questionable logic and plain old Stupid-Villain Plotting undercutting it. Other shows in this final set of episodes have had questionable moments, but this is the first show which came off as almost entirely disappointing.

Find the full review here, in which Lynch awards the episode no more than a four.

Welcome to issue 86 of Optical Data Network, the final issue
before the US sees the end of Deep Space Nine. (Will there be a
special ODN next week? Probably not, but it's possible.)

[...]

This issue has an extensive list of ['Trekkies'] reviews, if you're interested in knowing how it did. [...] There's also the news story about Star Trek bottled water, which
proves that nothing is safe from the Trek merchandising machine.
There are plenty of NewsBits regarding all facets of Trek, including
the confirmation that Ron Moore is moving over to Voyager (making two
Ron Moores on staff there, Ron B and Ron D).

This issue also has an updated book/media list from Psi Phi, a
Convention listing, the standard US (Voyager season finale this
week, if you haven't been paying attention) and UK schedules, and
the wrap-up of letters written from readers (and another) to say
goodbye Deep Space Nine. (Although you're still welcome to send in
your comments, I can continue the feature if there's sufficient
interest.)

If, like me, you didn't actually receive the new issue, click here to read it online.

The best part of the episode was the camaraderie between Bashir and O'Brien, which has always been a strength on DS9. It gave Bashir credible moments to demonstrate his genetic enhancement talents -- traits that often go ignored. And I enjoy almost any episode that focuses on O'Brien. Colm Meaney is probably my favorite actor of the weekly regulars, and in the show's first couple of seasons, before Avery Brooks began to grow on me, I would occasionally wish that O'Brien could be the station commanders. As a non-commissioned officer he wouldn't be qualified, but the contrast between the station's alien weirdness and O'Brien's meat-and-potatoes simplicity as a dedicated family man and hands-on engineer, always struck me as a fertile area for exploration.

Meaney and Siddig have always played off each other well, and I was amused at their sheepish admissions that they enjoy each other's company better than Keiko or Dax, respectively. Extreme Measures may have reduced the momentum of The Final Chapter, but I'm happy the show gave Bashir and O'Brien one last adventure together.

Robert Picardo Chat TonightChristian (1:30 pm CST)At 8:00pm Eastern Time, TV Guide & Yahoo! will be hosting a live chat with Robert Picardo, most famous for his role of 'The Doctor' on Star Trek: Voyager. More info on the chat can be found in the Yahoo! Chat Auditorium, for which you first have to register. On Thursday, they'll also be hosting a live chat with René Auberjonois (Odo).

Talk about your synergistic programming: At virtually any of the multiplexes where people without a life line up to see Star Wars Episode 1, moviegoers can also take in Trekkies, a documentary about another group of real space cadets. Over the past 30 years or so, hard-core fanciers of Star Trek, the series Gene Roddenberry brought to TV in 1969,have built a cult that puts Star Wars to shame -- every weekend, in at least three places somewhere around the globe, there is a Star Trek convention. Taken together, these "cons" represent a pilgrimage for millions of trekkies (or "trekkers," as serious fanatics prefer to be called). Trekkies are not your average middle-American types.

For a while, Trekkies looks like a freak show, where we are confronted with enough horrors for 20 years of Jerry Springer programs. For example, we are given the case of Barbara Adams, trekkie and print-shop employee in Little Rock, Ark., who served as a juror in the Whitewater trial in her Starfleet officer's uniform, and who insists on being addressed as "Commander." (Where was she when the O. J. Simpson jury needed her?)

Or the 14-year-old veteran of 28 conventions, who wants to make his own Star Trek movie but looks and talks more like the kind of kid destined to put on a trench coat and take his guns to school. Or the veterinary student who dresses his cat up in scrubs, as Dr. Bones McCoy, a character in the original TV show. Or the wild-eyed guy who had his name legally changed to James T. Kirk. ("I met someone who told me, 'I wish I'd had the guts to do that.' ")

In the end he awards the documentary 3 stars, as you can read in the full review.

Insurrection DVD Enters Top 25Christian (1:29 pm CST)While the Insurrection Rental Video may not be doing as well as expected, the DVD certainly is. According to a press release from the DVD Video Group, the Insurrection DVD can currently be found at #24 in the list of Top 100 best selling DVDs in the entire year. Considering the DVD was only released two weeks ago, this certainly is a good performance. Of course, 'You've Got Mail,' which was also released two weeks ago, has already made it to #11, but that movie was also more popular at the box office.

Trek BBS TodayChristian (1:29 pm CST)For some strange reason, the Trek BBS seems to be producing all sorts of weird errors at the moment. Because of that, I have been unable to write up today's 'Trek BBS Today.' According to the technical support team at our web host, the problems should be solved in a few hours, so then you'll be able to start posting again at the Trek BBS!

-The Trek offers free webring membership, a free you@thetrek.zzn.com web-based email address, and a free monthly [trek.one] emailing.
-Federation Database Deep Space Station has an extensive collection of information on all the series of Star Trek, including the starships, cerw members, and medals of UFP.
-Federation Intelligence is an international fan club for Star Trek fans. They focus on the darker side of the Federation, rather than the exploration side.

Hello World!Christian (1:27 pm CST)This morning, my e-mail addres of christian@trekzone.net suddenly stopped functioning. I tried out several approaches for solving this, but unfortunately none of them worked out, and I was forced to delete and re-open the mail account. In the process, I also decided to change my primary e-mail address to christian@trektoday.com, so that is where you'll have to send mails to in the future.

If you sent me mail this morning (European time), it probably didn't arrive, and I would ask you to please re-send it. Thanks!

Sunday May 23, 1999

'Equinox' Definitely Based On PathfinderChristian (2:34 pm CST)Yesterday I posted an update in which I (along with many other fans) speculated that the U.S.S. Equinox, from Voyager's final episode, was actually based on the Defiant-Pathfinder class from the 'Deep Space Nine Technical Manual.' Trinculo at the SolarFlare Forums just received confirmation of this from Rick Sternbach, production designer on Voyager:

Trinculo: Which was designed first by Starfleet-the Nova Class or the Sovereign Class? And is the Nova Class based on the design of the Defiant Class pathfinder featured in the ST: DS9 Technical Manual?

Rick Sternbach:No idea which came first, though I suspect the Sovereign had a longer R&D cycle. If you're talking about the Equinox, yep.

DS9 Finale Trailer AvailableChristian (2:33 pm CST)
Sigh. I just finished downloading what is probably the last Deep Space Nine trailer ever. In just a week, 'What You Leave Behind' will air, and there'll be no more DS9 ever. Sad as that is, the final episode might actually turn out to be extremely great, according to the new Paramount preview, which was just made available at Star Trek Interactive!. As usual, the trailers are available in MPEG, ASF and MP3 format, and they're mirrored on three sites, so you'll probably be able to get them. In case you just want to see the images, a collection of screenshots is also available. You can find the preview by going here - I really recommend checking it out.

The Enterprise Lands Again, dealing with the Star Trek World Tour, which will soon open again in Austria.

Beam Me Up Scotty, a reader submission dealing with the transporter.

Reactions on the Sat.1 interview from two weeks ago.

Thomas' Trek Talk, in which columnist Thomas talks about the Star Trek television show.The Question Of The Week, this time dealing with the issue 'Star Wars vs. Star Trek.'

You can listen to the full radio show by going here. Remember that the show itself is in German.

Cynic Reviews 'Extreme Measures'Christian (2:32 pm CST)After liking last week's 'Tacking Into The Wind' rather a lot, Cynic David E. Sluss isn't at all impressed with 'Extreme Measures,' the latest DS9 episode. In his Cynics Corner review, he awards the episode no more than a 5.0, and again finds lots of issues with the episode:

ALLEGORY OF THE WEEK: Star Trek is known for embedding contemporary issues into its sci-fi plots. One of the biggest issues in the United States at this time is espionage and incompetent government agencies. In this episode, Section 8 plays the role only too well. It's hard to believe that Section 8 could have been successful in its mission and maintained its secrecy for two hundred years, given the level of ineptitude shown here.

First, we have Section 8 falling for Bashir's fake message in the first place. Second, we have Section 8 sending in Super-Spy Sloan, the one agent Bashir would recognize on sight, to sabotage his work. Super-spy Sloan arrives on DS9 wearing black leather thermal underwear, as usual, even though he should dress in a way that maintains a low profile. Super-Spy Sloan does not go directly to the lab to find and destroy Bashir's research, but instead goes to Bashir's quarters. Why? What was Sloan's "assignment" for Bashir? Did he expect Bashir to destroy his own work? Was he there to kill Bashir? If so, why didn't he? None of Sloan's or Section 8's actions here make a damn bit of sense.

Trek Book NewsChristian (2:31 pm CST)In his most recent Q&A update, Pocket Books editor John Ordover gives us lots of mysterious comments about upcoming Trek novel projects. Take a look at three of those:

Query from: Jim McCain
Have you approached any of the DS9 production/writing staff to write a novel lately?

Response from: John Ordover
There is something in the works. Will let you know when it's a done deal.

Query from: Aaron
John, Is there any chance of expounding on the Strange New Worlds Anthologies, by allowing full-length novels?

Response from: John Ordover
Stay tuned. John

Query from: Bob
Are you and Dave Mack interested in writing any Voyager episodes,now that it's going to be the only Trek in town? And how about anything outside of Trek?

Response from: John Ordover
Dave and I are always in there pitching, and of course always hope something we do will sell.:) We have a line on some comic book work at DC Comics. I'll keep you informed.:)

Dennis McCarthy poured his heart and soul into this score, the mood at the session was one of joy and bittersweet sorrow, like seeing a old friend one last time.
Dennis uses his theme from the episode "The Visitor" for one key scene that brought tears to my eyes (as well as several other folks at the session).

The score for the last show is full of emotion and power (Act 9 is stunning).
The Final scene is scored with a very moving version of the DS9.

E! Online 'Trekkies' ReportChristian (2:30 pm CST)E! Online has put up an article dealing with 'Trekkies,' the new documentary directed by Roger Nygard and starring Denise Crosby. The article contains some info on why the name 'Trekkies' was chosen, instead of the more politically correct 'Trekkers:'

Nygard is not a Trekkie (or Trekker) himself, so the early test screening that saw the film served up to Trek diehards was the one that scared him the most. "That's the core group and if we piss them off we're screwed," he remembers thinking. Fortunately for Nygard, they laughed. And kept their phasers at bay. (Reaction from fans--good and bad--is available on the movie's official site: www.trekdoc.com)

The part of the movie that tends to inspire the most ire is the title--and the filmmakers' decision to dub it Trekkies instead of, say, Trekkers.
"We debated long and hard about that," Nygard says.

Happy Birthday Joan Collins!Christian (2:30 pm CST)Today is the 66th birthday of Joan Collins, perhaps the most remembered guest star Star Trek ever had. She appeared as Kirk's love interest Edith Keeler on the Original Series episode 'The City on the Edge of Forever,' which is generally regarded as being the best Star Trek episode ever. However, Collins is much more famous for her role on the long-running television series 'Dynasty,' where she starred as 'Alexis Morrell Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan.' Currently she's hard at work on 'The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas,' which should be appearing in theatres this year.

-Millennium Productions is an 'online production studio' and home to the best new Trek series including Defender, Paris, Resurrection and others!
-Johnnie's Star Trek Website is a Star Trek site which includes previews of upcoming shows and a database filled with information on the Star Trek universe, including Warp Charts, and a Stardate guide.
-The Dysonsphere has an easily navigated user interface and features a comprehensive and always up to date episode guide for all the series, movie sypnoses, crew information and biographies, comprehensive Klingon section, and a lot of information on the Dysonsphere.

When I bought the books, I was really looking forward to reading them - after all, Dafydd ab Hugh is also the author of 'Fallen Heroes,' easily my all-time favourite DS9 novel. And indeed, most parts of the trilogy reminded me of 'Fallen Heroes' - including the constant Odo/Quark fights, and the 'Lead on, MacDuff' joke he also used in 'Fallen Heroes.'

Unfortunately, the last hundred pages completely ruined the experience for me, as they seemed incredibly rushed. While that had already been a problem in the previous two books (continuity errors, lots of typos), the situation got even worse in 'The Liberated,' the last book. Many of the sub-plots were never explained (the Changeling on the planet, how precisely the Sierra Bravo situation ended), or just felt like being written in no more than five minutes (such as the laughable 'the planet is missing' epilogue.)

Why couldn't they have given Ab Hugh just a few more months to really finish the novel? The 'Rebels' trilogy no ranks as one of the worst Trek books I've ever read, and I'm not happy at all about it.

Precisely one minute after posting the below article dealing with the TV Guide covers, I noticed on Web Trek that TV Guide Online has actually posted a rather large preview of their DS9 feature. They've put up no less than three articles - one large one, dealing with the actual end, and two smaller ones, dealing with the history and the future of the show. The first article includes information on the final scene of the show, which will indeed take place in Vic's Lounge:

It is during the scene in Vic's Lounge that Capt. Benjamin Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, will raise a glass of bubbly and make a moving farewell toast to the crew with whom he has spent the last seven years. It is art beating life to the punch by a mere matter of hours. Needless to say, the filming of this sequence has emotions running high. Almost every star and crew member—not to mention several female extras in spike heels and Jackie Kennedy bouffants—has brought a camera. Between takes, they shoot one another for posterity. Some exchange addresses; some exchange autographs.

The interesting thing is, of course, that Benjamin Sisko IS ACTUALLY THERE to make a toast - does that mean he won't actually die or join the Prophets in the finale? Lots of other spoilers can be found in the full article, including the news that Jake Sisko will soon be getting a half-brother or half-sister. The TV Guide issue also contains an article dealing with the future of Trek, which doesn't seem to look all that bad, despite the death of a few rumoured projects:

"[The IMAX movie is] not dead, but quite cool on a way-back burner," says Berman, who also denies the enticing rumors that a young-guns version of Trek—set in Starfleet Academy—is in the works. "But I am developing other [Trek] TV projects." Who's involved? Hints Berman: "I find it hard to believe we've seen the last of all the DS9 cast."

As far as I know, this is the first time Berman has openly said he's developing new Trek TV projects. I find it interesting he doesn't call it a series - maybe the long-hoped for 'Trek TV movies' idea might actually be in development at Paramount, though this is just wishful me speculating. Find the full feature by going here.

John De Lancie Chat TranscriptChristian (2:28 pm CST)The people at the Continuum have put up the transcript of Thurday's chat with John De Lancie, best known for his role as Q on the three modern Trek series. Take a look at three of the most interesting quotes from the transcript:

Heather1 asks:
Can I visit the Q Continuum?

John de Lancie:
Of course you can visit the Q Continuum. The password is 'Swordfish'.

HGC asks:
What is your favorite Q dialogue that really enjoy playing the omnipotent being? Do you have any insights of what his life must be like, how he views existance (Q's or the future of humanitiy's), or anything you'd wish for the beloved character?

John de Lancie:Peter David and I have written a book called, "I, Q" which will be distributed very shortly. In it you will discover all sorts of aspects to Q's personality and opinons about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Baker asks:
Mr. de Lancie, have you ever had an "annoying" experiance with certain Trekkies, like excesive picture taking. Not that I've done it myself! I'm just curious :)

John De Lancie:
Yes, often times people will set up their little, or I should say their 900mm lens on a tripod and make you think you're in some kind of photoshoot. The other thing I find annoying is when I'm trying to make a phone call in an airport and people are actually tapping me on the shoulder. I've actually had people follow me into the restroom and take pictures of me. It was embarrassing. Since I was in the women's restroom. And they were security guards. But other than that, it's been fun.

Find more in the full transcript, though I didn't find it quite as interesting as some of the other recent chats.

STAR TREK: VOYAGER's Roxann Dawson (B'Elanna Torres) and STAR TREK: DEEP
SPACE NINE's Andrew Robinson (Garak) star in the latest Seeing Ear
Theatre original production, THE WHEEL. In this post-apocalyptic fable,
Owen and Topsie cross the near-endless Desert of Glass, staying one step
ahead of the radio-active glowwinds, in search of their origins, their
childhood home--and a tape machine that will let them hear the one
artifact their late father left behind, a voice recording of who they
are and how they came to be...

Dawson and Robinson star as Owen and Topsie's parents, Evvie and
Lazarus, in this haunting tale of history, and the importance of
documenting, preserving the stories and origins of our lives--to pass
down to our children, and our children's children, and on and on...

Part one of 'The Wheel' can now be heard online. If you want to hear more than the 24 minutes found in that part, from there you'll also be able to purchase the complete audio book.

'Equinox' A Pathfinder-Class Starship?Christian (2:26 pm CST)
Over the past few weeks, it has been rumoured that the U.S.S. Equinox (the Federation ship Voyager will encounter in the season finale) would be a Nova-class starship. Now that Star Trek Interactive! has published the trailers for 'Equinox,' it turns out the ship might actually be a long-lost brother of the U.S.S. Defiant!

If you look at the above image and the image here to the right (both of which I slightly enhanced so you can see it better), you'll see the U.S.S. Equinox, as it was shown in the trailer available at Star Trek Interactive! Both images clearly show the cut-out space at the nose of the ship, and the size of the ship in relation the bridge module.

Now take a look at this blueprint - does it look in any way familiar? It should if you took a careful look at the above screenshots. What this blueprint actually shows is the Defiant Pathfinder, the way it was shown in the 'Star Trek DS9 Technical Manual.' According to that book, this was how the U.S.S. Defiant would originally have looked, in the initial proposal by the 'Advanced Starship Design Bureau' (in the Star Trek Universe, that is)
Below are some of the specifications of the Pathfinder, as found in the Tech Manual:

The study vehicle, designated NXP-2365WP/T, was being considered as a fast torpedo attack ship for high-warp penetrations of threat defenses. This Defiant pathfinder would have mounted six torpedo launchers, four in the primary hull and two in the engineering hull, capable of firing photon and quantum torpedoes at speeds up to Warp 9.982.

According to the book, the Pathfinder design was abandoned after the Borg threat required a more compact vessel. Many people (or at least I myself) thought that the Pathfinder design would only be appearing in the DS9 Tech Manual, but, judging from the above screenshots, it may actually be used in the Voyager season finale. Of course, a few changes have apparently been made (most notably the Warp drives look different), but in total the ships look remarkably similar.

Of course, now we're left to wonder why the creative staff decided to go with the Pathfinder design. In the Trek universe, it would have about the same technological capabilities as Voyager, while we originally heard that the Equinox would be a lot less advanced than Voyager. Maybe the reason is (as I saw someone remark at the SolarFlare forums) that a lot of fans already created their own Nova-class designs, and Paramount wanted to avoid any allegations of theft. Or maybe they just liked the design - I myself rather like the cut-out thing as well. Hopefully we'll get some answers to these questions soon.

Once again TV Guide has gone for the collectibles crowd with its new issue -- a four-version cover heralding the end of ST:DS9 and its two-hour finale, "What You Leave Behind." The quartet of covers for the May 29 issue feature Avery Brooks ("Sisko"), Rene Auberjonois and Nana Visitor ("Odo" and "Kira"), Colm Meaney, Alexander Siddig [and Cirroc Lofton] ("O'Brien," "Bashir" and "Jake"), and Nicole deBoer, Michael Dorn and [Armin Shimerman] ("Ezri," "Worf" and "Quark").

As you may recall, a few weeks ago TrekToday was the first ever site to report about this, thanks to our wonderful source 'Faith.' Except for Jake Sisko not appearing together with his father on the cover, she even managed to report us the correct cover images! As you can imagine, I'm rather happy about this - thanks Faith!

Klingon Academy is a fully 3D space combat simulator where you take the role of the captain of a large ship. You can also take control of gunnery stations in combat or leave it to the AI. The graphics looked quite good, although the interface seemed on the complex side for your typical space combat simulator. Even so, this might be the first Star Trek space combat game with even a chance to crack the big time. The story line is a prequel to the movie Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country and Christopher Plummer reprises his role as General Chang. Your CO is Chang, and the first part of the game puts you in the simulator to learn your job, thus the name of the game. Overall the game looked like it had a lot of potential. Along with the campaign a fully featured mission builder is included, giving the game more long term value. Klingon Academy is due this July.

Cinescape: Have you heard any talk about incorporating DS9 characters into the movie series in some way?

deBoer: There's certainly been no mention of anything as far as we all know. There's no DS9 movie, there's no tying the characters into another show and the next Star Trek feature won't be for a few more years, if they're smart.

Two more questions can be found in the full interview written by Steve Hockensmith, while even more can be found in the print version of Cinescape.

-Jeff Vice, a (the?) movie critic of the 'Deseret News' awards the documenteray 3 stars in his review, saying that the film might well be interpreted as offensive to Trek fans, and talking about Trek star Kate Mulgrew being as odd as her fans.

-Steven Mazey at the Ottawa Citizen calls the movie 'mean' and 'cruel to Trek fans,' and awards it no more than 2 stars in his review. The Ottawa Citizen has also put up a background article looking at the making of the movie, written by Jamie Portman.

-Jack Mathews at the New York Daily News agrees with most other reviewers that 'Trekkies' is a put-down of Trek fans, though, according to him, we don't mind that as our 'devotion is blind.' Grumph. In his full review he awards the episode 3 stars, also calling it 'more enjoyable than the "Phantom Menace."'

-Eon Magazine has put up an interview with director Roger Nygard, which contains the following interesting explanation of why 'The Phantom Menace' *really* came out two days earlier: "Paramount had the 21st for TREKKIES, and George found out about it and grabbed it to get the TREKKIES spill over for STAR WARS. Then I think he panicked and moved up to the 19th to get out of our way. He's very shrewd."

-Mick LaSalle at the San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle calls the movie frightening, 'showing us how nonsense over a TV screen can replace real spirituality [and thereby suggesting] the ultimate futuristic nightmare.' Find his review here.

If you'd like to discuss the new 'Trekkies' documentary, a special thread can be found here.

Happy Birthday Paul Winfield!Christian (2:21 pm CST)Today is the 58th birthday of Paul Winfield, the actor who starred as Captain Terrell of the U.S.S. Reliant on 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.' He made himself perhaps even more liked on 'Star Trek: The Next Generation,' where he guest starred as Captain Dathon in the superb episode 'Darmok.' His most recent appearance in a big-name movie was in the 1996 'Mars Attacks!,' though since then he has already appeared in 8 more feature films. Naturally, we wish him a great birthday!

Today on TVChristian (2:21 pm CST)-On Sunday in the UK, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Profit And Loss' at 16:00 BST, and Voyager's 'Threshold' at 17:00. At 18:00, the BBC will be showing Voyager's 'Message in a Bottle,' followed 45 minutes later by 'Hunters.'

-Sunday morning at 02:55 CET, German television station Sat.1 will be repeating Voyager's 'Verwerfliche Experimente' (Scientific Method).

Trek BBS TodayChristian (2:20 pm CST)The weekend has only just started, and already we're seeking the weekly increase in posting activity at the Trek BBS. Check out three of the current discussions:

-Steve's Trek Page page contains the largest accumlation of Trek language dictionaries available. There is also information on Klingon weapons, and the home of the Federation Humane Society, where you can adopt your own Trek Cyber-pet.

Hello World!Christian (2:19 pm CST)Over the past few days I've been having a rather amusing e-mail conversation with a guy claiming to be a Paramount insider. Apparently this guy was thinking that I was completely brainless, as he started telling me about a new series which will 'definitely' be launched in September 200. According to this guy, it will be set 200 years from now, and it will star (wait for it...) Leonardo DiCaprio as the new captain!

Purely for amusement purposes, I sent him back an e-mail asking for more details, which he promptly provided - apparently DiCaprio's first officer would be the grandson of Spock, and the timeship would also have something to do with the series. When I finally told him I didn't believe a word of what he was saying, he told me "If you dont beleive me and print this, I'll send it to another sight!"

If another news, erm, 'sight' does actually 'beleive' this, please let me know - I'd be more than happy to bring you in touch with this 'insider' :-).

Friday May 21, 1999

Shatner Howard Stern ReportChristian (1:56 pm CST)Mark's Friggin' Howard Stern Stuff has put up a report of William Shatner's appearance on the Howard Stern show this morning. On the show, Stern and Shatner apparently talked about his new book 'Get A Life!,' his Priceline.com stocks, and his new wife. Apparently Shatner even performed a song together with the rapper 'Rated R.' Find the full report here. Thanks go out to Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga for pointing me to this.

Well - Season 5 is now done! Just going to help with the DS9 final ep, and then it
will be time for some much deserved R and R. I can't wait. Although it is
very cool to be working on the final DS9, considering I was there for the
first episode, and through the first 5 seasons, and now I get to do the
final show. This makes me happy.

When asked about this, 415Man provided some extra info on what still had to be done for 'What You Leave Behind:'

It dubs Friday, Monday, Tues and Wed. Right now there is a
massive amount of ADR [Automated Dialogue Replacement, 'looping' - TT] to cut. I really kind of like the last ep, but it also makes me sad. I worked on that show for so long, it seems weird to see it go. For a few minor spoilers that everyone has probably already heard,
scroll down.

In his full message he also provided some spoiler information for 'What You Leave Behind,' but most of that has also been published on the net before (mostly some info on what all the characters will be doing after the series). If you have a news client installed and this actually works, you should be able to see the full post by clicking here.

Is The Internet Good For Star Trek?Christian (1:55 pm CST)Julia Houston, the Star Trek guide at the Mining Co. has put up a new article entitled 'Is The Internet Good For Star Trek?' According to Houston, the internet might not always be good for the people actually creating the show:

I want to say, "Of course Star Trek benefits from the Internet." But the reason I want to say that is that I, like you, am a fan of the show. For fans -- Trekkers, Trekkies, and just interested by-standers -- the Internet helps our enjoyment of the show tremendously. [...] For us, life is good.

But over the two years that I've been the Star Trek Guide, it's become quite clear to me that in a few ways, the Internet has made some things more difficult for the producers of the show. Now, that doesn't mean we have to worry about it. The producers make the money and have the power. Dealing with the fans is, after all, their job. I'm not talking about this to dredge up pity for TPTB. I just see something, and I want to share it. That's what people online, in my humble opinion, do best.

Eon Reviews 'Get A Life'Christian (1:55 pm CST)Self-proclaimed Shatner fan Jeff Bond at Eon has put up a review of 'Get A Life!', the new autobiographical book by Shatner. Bond doesn't take the usual route of just making fun of Shatner (which, I admit, I myself have been guilt of as well), but instead praises Shatner for finally making peace with his fans:

Eventually Shatner makes his peace with the fans (and having observed his performance with the other 'Four Captains' at Grand Slam last year, he genuinely seemed to be enjoying himself), and if GET A LIFE never really comes up with a satisfactory explanation for the appeal of STAR TREK other than the inevitable "...I think it's Gene Roddenberry's optimistic vision of the future blah blah blah..." well, at least Shatner gave it his best shot. As for me, why do I like STAR TREK? I don't know, but here's one crazy possibility: maybe I just like that darned William Shatner.

In his rather interesting review, Bond ends up awarding the book a B-.

I'm noticing a trend here. First we get put on standby with episodes that carefully stack the pieces while providing interesting events but also intensely bottled frustration, and then we're permitted an explosive release of tension that leaves us reeling.

"Tacking into the Wind," which might've also been aptly named "For the Homeland," tells the suspenseful and particularly well-realized multi-tiered story of people facing conflict in their own organizations. How they deal with these conflicts could determine the fate of everything they stand for. It also reveals where they've come from and where they're likely headed.

"Tacking" is the best type of action show--one with a strong character undercurrent and ideological core such that we genuinely care about what happens on the screen. We've got the action elements here--dangerous missions and physical fights--but they exist as part of a greater purpose. They're a means to several ends. Those ends prove quite satisfying.

This was probably the most disappointing two-month period Voyager has ever seen. After a very strong February Sweeps, March and April saw Voyager suffer a nervous breakdown.

[...]

Every episode during this period was either down or level from last year. "Think Tank" was the one show which managed to stay near last year, tying "Omega Directive" at a 3.7. Considering how often Voyager was besting its year-ago marks earlier this year, this is quite disappointing. Considering these ratings, it looks fairly certain that May will also see a drop off from last year's May Sweeps performance.

Voyager's season was looking extremely promising up until this period. Shows were regularly defeating their year-ago counterparts and Voyager was generally on the rise. However, these last two months have marred an otherwise excellent season. With these consistently low marks, things are not looking good for May and the season's average in comparison with last year. "The Fight" set a new low for a first-run episode and "Juggernaut" set a new all-time low for any Voyager rating including reruns. There was one bright spot in "Think Tank" proving that Voyager has the potential to return to its better marks from earlier this season, but that potential hasn't been exploited since "Think Tank" aired.

A much more detailed analysis can be found in the full report. The Info Database also has info on the national ratings for 'Relativity' and the overnight ratings for 'Warhead', but as the Universe already reported on this before I'm not quoting anything from those reports.

Shatner AppearancesChristian (1:52 pm CST)The Events Calendar of the William Shatner Connection lists no less than 4 appearances by William Shatner (James T. Kirk) today, most of them held to promote his new book 'Get A Life!' Below is a list of his four appearances for today:

Apparently Shatner appeared this morning at 7:00 am Eastern Time on Fox & Friends.

And, erm, a few hours ago he appeared on the Joan Hamburg show, a New York radio show. Had I warned you on time, you would have been able to listen to it live here.

At 8:00pm Shatner will be doing a book signing at the Book Revue in New York.

Sorry for not warning you on time for these events - in the future, you might want to check out the Shatner Event Calendar for yourself. Tomorrow morning Shatner will be appearing on NBC's 'Weekend Today' - find more on that here.

Patrick Stewart ("Picard" on ST:TNG) signed yesterday (5/20) to appear as Professor Charles Xavier in the upcoming "X-Men" film. The film will be directed by Bryan Singer ("The Usual Suspects") and co-stars Ian McKellen ("Gods and Monsters") as Magneto. Filming will begin in Toronto mid-July.

Frakes To Compete With VoyagerChristian (1:50 pm CST)The people at the Daily Sci-Fi have posted some rather disturbing news - apparently WB have put their new 'Roswell High' series in exactly the same time slot occupied by Voyager on UPN, Wednesdays from 9 to 10. Roswell High is an SF series about a pair of alien teens at a certain New Mexico high school, directed by Jonathan Frakes (William T. Riker). I do hope that won't mean Riker fans will be watching Roswell High instead of Voyager - that's the last thing the series needs!

In the interest of integrity for all of the remaining Regional Preliminary tournaments, we found it necessary to issue some clarifications to the rules regarding the advancement of players to their Regional Championships.

Shatner At CannesChristian (1:49 pm CST)With the link apparently being that both men are womanizers, the Los Angeles Times has put up an article chronicling the experiences of Playboy's Hugh Hefner and Star Trek's William Shatner (James T. Kirk) at the Cannes movie festival. The report contains some info on the new 'Free Enterprise' movie, in which Shatner stars:

Regent Entertainment, which produced the Oscar-winning "Gods and Monsters" and is releasing "Free Enterprise" in the U.S., hopes the movie will get a boost from the frenzy over "Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace." It plans to distribute 10,000 "Free Enterprise Survival Kits" to people waiting in line for the "Star Wars" prequel--goodie bags stocked with items that are featured in the film, from MAC lipstick to Evian water.

But they know that Shatner is their biggest draw. And so does he.
"How someone is successful in selling something that is not driven by a $20-million star, I don't know," he admitted. "All I do know is that I and many people like me have striven for years to put together independent films. And I'm now in one done by two young men who've never done it before. It's kind of humiliating and disconcerting at the same time."

Hey, it got him to Cannes, right?
"It's an ironic twist," he said. "And I see it, totally."

Find the full article here. Thanks go out to Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga for the link.

Trekkers Also Skipping Work?Christian (1:49 pm CST)The New York Post is reporting that not only are Star Wars fans skipping work to see 'The Phantom Menace,' but many Trekkers are also saying they'll be skipping work for the premiere of 'Trekkies.' Is there anyone really doing this? If, however, you're indeed going to see the movie today, and you'd like to write a review of it, I'd be more than happy to post it here at TrekToday - just send in your reviews!

'Trekkies' ReviewsChristian (1:48 pm CST)
Today's listing of new reviews of the new Trek fan documentary 'Trekkies,' presented by Denise Crosby and directed by Roger Nygard:

-Randall King of the Winnipeg Sun points out the inherent contradiction between the two primary directives of the film - to show that Trekkies are actually normal people on the one hand, and to have a good laugh at the human capacity for obsession on the other hand. For the rest King's review doesn't really contain anything new.

-Brian McTavish of the Kansas City Star ends his review by pointing out what is indeed a major problem for Trek fans with the movie: 'It's difficult to imagine too many Trekkies feeling good about being used as unwitting comedy fodder.' Fortunately, his Kansas colleague James Hart, on the other hand, is very positive about Star Trek, comparing Trek's thinking heroes to Star Wars' action heroes.

-Stephen Hunter at the Washington Post amusingly begins by calling Star Trek 'one of the five major world religions,' and then goes on with the standard talk about how obsessed Trek fans are. The review ends with an interesting note, as Hunter complains about William Shatner not being in the movie, while he most certainly is. Are there perhaps two cuts circulating around the country? The Washington Post people also put up another review, written by Michael O'Sullivan.

-The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette isn't that positive about the documentary, awarding it no more than 2.5 stars in its review.

-Gene Seymour's LA Times review doesn't list William Shatner either - does anyone have any more info on this they'd like to share? Did anyone already see Shatner in the documentary?

-Eon Magazine reviewer Christopher Allan Smith has also put up an excellent review, in which he basically sums up my own point of view - good film, but not that good for Trek fans. Eon is also the site that provided me with the movie poster, thanks go out to them for that.

-Lastly, Sci-Fi Weekly reviewer Patrick Lee has put up a review of the documentary, calling it hysterically funny. The review contains the below quote, which I thought would be a fitting end to this list of 'Trekkies' reviews:

The Trek actors and producers in the film are clearly tiptoeing around the subject so as not to offend the fans. I wondered how many of the Trekkies themselves will react to their depictions. But I found it especially ironic to be watching the documentary in a Paramount Studios auditorium surrounded by industry hangers-on, many of whom laughed a little too loudly at the fans that pay for it all.

Insurrection Rental Video ResultsChristian (1:48 pm CST)The Video Software Dealers Association just announced the top 10 video rentals for the week ending May 16, and 'Insurrection' debuted at no. 3. The movie took in $3.15 million dollar, which wasn't even half of the amount taken in by 'You've Got Mail,' the most popular rental video. Though this sounds disappointing, we should remember that the movie didn't come out until the 11th of May, so the Insurrection results just count for five days. You can find the full top 10 by going here.

More On UPN Fall ScheduleChristian (1:47 pm CST)Variety's Josef Adalian has written an in-depth article looking at the recently announced UPN fall schedule, in which Adalian fills in some of the blanks that were left open yesterday. The new schedule will indeed focus very strongly on the young male audience:

UPN Thursday unveiled a new lineup designed to repair the damage from last year's ill-fated attempt to reach beyond young males to a broad audience.

UPN Entertainment president Tom Nunan said the network's late-season success with a WWF wrestling special and a two-hour ``Star Trek: Voyager'' TV movie has firmed up its resolve to go after the underserved male 18-34 demographic.
``We know if we build a schedule capitalizing on this audience, our viewership will increase,'' he said.

The rest of the article has more info on all the other UPN shows, and also includes the news that their Friday night movie series will be prominently backed by the Viacom-owned Blockbuster video chain.

Today on TVChristian (1:47 pm CST)-At 12:30pm Eastern Time tomorrow, the American TV Land will be showing the Animated Series episode 'Mudd's Passion.'

-In the UK, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Playing God' at 16:00pm BST, and Voyager's 'Alliances' at 17:00pm. Thanks go out to the Television Observation Unit of the Star Trek Collective for this.

-Would you like to be the moderator of the new 'General Sci-Fi' forum, which will replace the 'Earth: Final Conflict' forum? If so, please volunteer here.
As ever, feel free to add extra discussions to the Trek BBS - remember, registration isn't even required!

Hello World!Christian (1:46 pm CST)I noticed something really strange this morning while looking through the logs - a few TrekToday visitors actually find the site by going to a search engine and searching for the word 'trektoday.com.' Why would anyone do this? If you already know the URL, why would you need to search for it in a search engine? Apparently the web isn't as intuitive for new people as we think it is...

Thursday May 20, 1999

Auberjonois Also In 'Gepetto'Christian (3:21 pm CST)Welcome, Brent Spiner Fans! is reporting that, besides Brent Spiner (Data) and Scarlett Pomers (Naomi Wildman), the upcoming musical 'Gepetto' will also feature René Auberjonois (Odo). Furthermore, they've also provided a link to this news report dealing with the movie, which mentions that production will begin on June 7, while the musical will air in May, 2000. Furthermore, it is reporting that Seinfield's Julia Louis-Dreyfus will be starring as the Blue Fairy.

I just saw a commercial for Star Trek: Insurrection at Blockbuster Video--one of those "Guaranteed to be there" things. Yep--if you can't find a copy of the film for rent, you will get your next rental for free. The commercial features scenes from the film and a reading of the full trailer's narration.

Find more Insurrection news at the Flagship, including the news that the next issue of the US PC Gamer will have a special Star Trek feature.

As a watcher of the final chapter, I have to say, that I was a bit underwhelmed by Extreme Measures. O'brien and Bashir are always enjoyable to see together and have had some great adventures--but this last adventure doesn't measure up...a huge disapointment.

The Continuum has posted the official description for 'Equinox,' this year's season finale for Voyager. Check out their (rather detailed) synopsis:

The U.S.S. Voyager finds another Federation starship lost in the Delta Quadrant, the science vessel U.S.S. Equinox, and helps it stave off an attack by creatures from another spatial realm. Captain Janeway now has a kindred spirit in its commander, Captain John Ransom, and helps him salvage his war-torn vessel so they can journey home together. But when The Doctor retrieves data from the U.S.S. Equinox research lab, Janeway learns the hard truth that Captain Ransom has seriously violated the Starfleet oath by commiting mass murder in the Delta Quadrant. When she strips him of his command and confines him to quarters, he and his crew manage to escape with the U.S.S. Voyager's advanced technology - and The Doctor and Seven of Nine as hostages aboard their ship.

Find the full Continuum preview here. Thanks go out to Warp Eleven for pointing me to this.

Voyager Season Finale TrailersChristian (3:00 pm CST)Star Trek Interactive! has put up the trailers for 'Equinox,' the Voyager season finale. The show itself will be a cliffhanger, with the conclusion being shown as the first episode of the sixth season, but the preview itself is rather interesting as well already. You can find MPEG and MP3 versions of the preview here, plus an archive of zipped images.

'Incubus' ReviewChristian (2:53 pm CST)The official William Shatner Connection has posted a review of 'Incubus,' the only film ever made in Esperanto. The 1965 film starred a young William Shatner (James T. Kirk), the only really famous actor in the film:

INCUBUS is an experimental art film, once thought lost, but now available on video for under $40.00. It's unique since it's the only film ever made in Esperanto, a Latin based artifical language. William Shatner stars in this 1965 B&W fable about the forces of good and evil. Shatner is the only name in this film which basically uses only six actors, two of whom committed suicide shortly after the project. It was written and directed by Leslie Stevens and produced by Anthony Taylor, who recently found the one remaining copy and who is now offering digitally restored versions of it for sale on video.

Nicole deBoer ArticleChristian (2:45 pm CST)Kevin Dilmore, contributing writer for the Continuum, has put up an interview with Nicole deBoer (Ezri Dax). The article has deBoer talking about her first personal experience with Star Trek:

Ask Nicole deBoer about her first "up close and personal" brush with the Star Trek universe, and the answer won't involve her initial visit to the set of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as counselor Ezri Dax. That brush wasn't with Captain Sisko in 24th Century New Orleans, but rather Captain Kirk in 20th Century Canada. "Once in Toronto, I tried out for a part on TekWar," says the actress and self-proclaimed Star Trek fan, "and I didn't think about it at all, but there was this guy sitting there in a baseball cap and sunglasses. He asked if I had any questions, and I asked maybe one or two, then I said I was ready and walked to the front. "When I turned back around, I got a better look at that guy's face under the cap and I just screamed - 'Oh my God! William Shatner! I'm sorry I didn't recognize you!' I just screamed and screamed. He just said, "Calm down," and then I read for the part - and I didn't get it. "I'm sure that all those people couldn't believe I lost control like that," deBoer says and laughs. "But I loved the original show and I watched 'Next Generation,' too."

The full article also includes comments from deBoer about the past year on DS9, and also a bit about her future career.

John DeLancie Chat TodayChristian (2:45 pm CST)At 06:30pm Pacific Time, the Continuum will be hosting a live chat with John DeLancie, who guest starred on all three modern Trek series as 'Q,' everyone's favourite omnipotent power. If you'd like to ask DeLancie questions, you can already submit your questions here, while you can get information on how to participate here.

Star Trek: Birth of the Federation's release has been delayed for at least one week by Electronic Boutique. The game was originally scheduled for a May 19, 1999 release, but has been pushed back to May 26, 1999. My sources at EB indicated to me that the reason for the delay is due to the opening of the newest Star Wars movie, The Phantom Menace, which will be playing everywhere starting on May 19, 1999. EB managers have been told to "hawk" all the newly released Star Wars software associated with the movie. It is unclear whether or not other software chains will follow suit. We'll just have to wait and see.

Thanks go out to FedCom for pointing me to this. You might want to visit their news page as well, as they offer lots of new info on the game.

The game will feature more than 10 weapons with multiple firing modes, including implements of the Federation, the Cardassians, the Jem'Hadars, the Klingons and others. A collection of over 30 environments, including the DS9 station, the USS Defiant and more will be featured, as will a new race of enemies, the bio-analogous Grigari, created exclusively for game. Overall, there will be more than 25 enemies to battle. And last, but not least, The Fallen will feature online competition in deathmatch, capture the flag, team deathmatch modes and more. Here are some screenshots released at the show.

You can find the full preview here, or, if you'd like to read a preview from a Trek fan's perspective, you might want to read our own preliminary preview, written by Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga. Thanks go out to Gustavo Leao for the link to the Avault article.

Let's play "Plagiarism Association," shall we? Nomad. V'ger. Mudd's androids. "Prototype." Data's exocomps. "Dreadnought." "Drone." Dark Star. I could go on and on and on and on, but what would be the point? Suffice to say that anyone who couldn't figure out exactly where this was going after the first fifteen minutes has obviously never sat through a Trek "we must try to preserve EVERY life-form no matter how evil it seems!" theme episode, or a science fiction "our technology is killing us!" theme movie. As if that weren't boring and predicatable enough, the Voyager crew tried out the novel "let's get Seven's nanoprobes to save the day!" approach to the problem, then reverted to the less-novel "since the captain's willing to let her ship and crew be destroyed in the name of the Prime Directive, let's have a junior officer come up with a better plan!" solution.

CAPTAIN James T. Kirk is sitting on the beach in Cannes and he is fed up. Well, not so much Kirk, as his older, chubbier alter ego, William Shatner, who is, quite frankly, sick of being pestered by Star Trek fans and wishes they would all just get a life.
Shatner, approaching his 69th birthday, is the unlikely idol of millions of people, mostly men, in their 20s and 30s who still marvel at his command of the tricorders and transporters on board the Star Ship Enterprise. The god-like status they accord him is, he says, absurd.

"I have been asked questions such as: 'When you said hello in episode 13 what did it mean?'
"Star Trek aficionados are just as interested in themselves as in the Star Trek personalities. In fact, the bonding experience of going to a Star Trek convention and having continuous interaction with other Trekkie fans is of more interest to them than anything else. Some of them already have pointy ears.
"I have never thought much about my audience. I avoid people as much as possible."

Find the full interview, written by Catherine Milner, by clicking on this link.

Words that the Sage of Skywalker Ranch his own self is practicing e'en now, no doubt; I get to try 'em out a little earlier, because it's time once again for the Origins Awards! And indeed, it is an honor just to be nominated, which I have been, in company with the rest of the savvy design crew on the Star Trek: The Next Generation RPG. It'll be an even bigger honor if I win, which is where you come in, young Jedi.

You remember from last year, surely, how we have these awards, which are kind of like the Oscars (or they would be if Harvey Weinstein were coming in here and spending a fat wad to get his game voted in), but more like the Hugos in that a select group (that's me and my cronies) selects nominees and the fans (that's you guys) votes for 'em. Then, at a stirring ceremony at the Origins game convention (that's in Columbus) this July Fourth weekend, the plaques get handed out, and a grand time is had by all.

This episode will be remembered as the one where Bashir and O'Brien confessed their love for one another...seriously, even non-slash fans had to be affected by that passionate declaration of friendship just before what they thought would be their deaths. It was quite moving considering that their attachment has been a topic of jokes for more than three years - I have never forgotten the scene in "Hippocratic Oath" where Miles wished aloud that Keiko could be more like Julian. It's annoying that they both have a propensity to ignore their female companions, but at least they were admitting to the failing and finding a way to integrate it into their lives in the end. Their chemistry moved this episode along far better than the plot, which got that predictable still-a-dream sequence just like the recent "Field Trip" on The X-Files and "Waking Moments" on Voyager.

More 'Trekkies' ReviewsChristian (2:42 pm CST)There are so many of them, I really can't quote pieces from all of them. If you do want to read them all, below is a short list of the ones I could find:

-The Boston Phoenix reviews the documentary, with just two paragraphs and not much new info.

-Bill Gallo actually has quite a few things to say in his Dallas Observer review and, while not all of his comments are that positive about Trek fans, he does raise a few interesting questions.

-Ted Anthony in his Nando Times review also appears rather critical about Trek fans, though his review too is really thorough.

More 'Trekkies' reviews will undoubtedly be appearing over the next few days.

Jam! Showbiz 'Trekkies' ReviewChristian (2:42 pm CST)Jam! has reprinted two reviews of the new 'Trekkies' documentary, which first appeared in the Toronto Sun and the Calgary Sun, respectively. Toronto's Bob Thompson begins by comparing 'Trekkies' to that other sci-fi release you may have heard of:

Talk about the elephant and the mouse. A $450,000 documentary called Trekkies is being released tomorrow opposite the $115-million super-picture, Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace.

The irony is not lost on either host-producer Denise Crosby or director Roger Nygard.
"The funny thing is, Trekkies is opening in about 330 theatres, the same as Star Wars in 1977," reports Nygard during a Four Seasons Hotel interview.

Louis Hobson's review for the Calgary sun contains an interesting news item about William Shatner:

"William Shatner proved to be the most difficult and least co-operative of all the cast members, but we knew we couldn't do this documentary without an appearance by him," says Crosby. Shatner eventually allowed the camera crew to film him during an appearance at a meeting of his biggest fan club in California.

"At the last minute he insisted on being paid, but then reneged when we started to pack up because he would have had to explain it to his fans."

Star Trek Cookbook ReviewChristian (2:41 pm CST)The LA Times has put up a review of both the 'Star Wars Cookbook' and the 'Star Trek Cookbook,' two recent books which gave fans dozens of special SF-based recipes. While the Star Wars cookbook is apparently rather humourous, this isn't the case with the Star Trek edition:

Trekkers seem less inclined to play with their food. The "Star Trek Cookbook" (Pocket Books, $20) by Ethan Phillips and William J. Birnes takes a more scholarly approach--think of Paula Wolfert making a guest appearance on "Star Trek: Voyager." Neelix, the Voyager's chief cook, describes the thrill of traveling around the Delta Quadrant, "sitting down to eat something I couldn't name, couldn't recognize, biting into a new, alive, exotic taste."

The book includes recipes for the foods eaten by characters from every Star Trek series and movie. The recipes are accompanied by Neelix's descriptions of hard-to-find local ingredients like Fargonian finger apples, Nezu candy-tufted mud fungus, Bolian tingle butter and a "tomato with see-through skin and seeds that sing" as well as suggestions for substitutions. (If you can't find crushed Bothan brain fluid, soy sauce will do as well.) There are also extensive notes on how recipes--like one for a chocolate cake that bakes for nine years and is made with nuts from a planet that is several lifetimes away--were adapted for 20th century Earth kitchens.

Nanotechnology A RealityChristian (2:41 pm CST)According to an article by AP's Lauran Neergaard, nanotechnology has recently become reality, after researchers from the University of Michigan discovered a new drug which works rather a lot like Star Trek's nanoprobes:

SEATTLE (AP) - It sounds like science fiction: Microscopic oil droplets protect patients from germs and viruses by fusing with the dangerous bugs and causing them essentially to explode.
University of Michigan scientists, hunting ways to protect soldiers from biological warfare, say they have created just such a drug. It can eradicate deadly anthrax within an hour of contact, and promises to be so non-toxic to humans that one day it might be possible to decontaminate germ-laden food.

Dr. James Baker, creator of these drug droplets so tiny they have been dubbed ``nano-bombs,'' added some to a sample of cholera viewed through a microscope.
A few minutes later, ``All that's left here is debris. The remarkable thing is this happens almost immediately,'' Baker said.

UPN To Focus On Young Male AudienceChristian (2:41 pm CST)UPN, the United States' least succesful nationwide television network, has just announced its new fall schedule, which incorporates quite a few major changes. The major new addition to its lineup is a new 'WWF Smackdown!' show which will run on Thursdays, bringing viewers no less than 2 continuous hours of wrestling.

Other changes include the Thursday night movie shifting a day later to Friday, and now being called the 'UPN Blockbuster Shockwave Cinema.' Lastly, their Tuesday night 'ethnic comedy block' moves to Monday, while Dilbert will move to Tuesdays. According to Jenny Hontz of the Daily Variety, 'UPN's schedule clearly represents the shift away from middle-American programming that categorized last fall's schedule and back toward the original strategy of attracting young men.'

On the Star Trek front, nothing will change, as Wednesdays will still first feature the 'Seven Days' drama and then Voyager at 9:00pm. I do have to wonder, though, if the 'young male' focus will also have an effect on Voyager - I certainly hope we won't be getting even more focus on Seven of Nine next year. More information on this can be found in this article.

Happy Birthday Anthony Zerbe!Christian (2:40 pm CST)Today is the 33th birthday of Anthony Zerbe, who starred as Admiral Matthew Dougherty on 'Star Trek: Insurrection,' the latest Trek feature film. If you'd like to know more about him, I suggest you check out his IMDB listing.

Today on TVChristian (2:39 pm CST)-At 7:00pm and at 11:00pm Eastern Time, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing 'The Menagerie, Part Two,' concluding what they started yesterday.

-Tomorrow at 17:00 and 23:30 BST, British Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Shadowplay.'

Trek BBS TodayChristian (2:39 pm CST)With 35 active discussion topics over the past 24 hours, the Trek BBS seems to get busier and busier! Check out three of the most interesting discussions:

-Should Paramount listen to the fans or not?. Of course, everyone's gut reaction would of course be 'yes,' but there may be more to this than you think.

-I'm absolutely amazed by this, but for some really weird reason the Star Wars forum on our Star *Trek* BBS seems to be one of the liveliest of the forums available. Check out this thread for a small sample.

-It's still a week away, but what are your thoughts on the Voyager season finale.

If these topics don't interest you, there are still dozens of others to be found at the Trek BBS. And if even those don't interest you, please feel free to add new topics yourself - remember, you don't even need to register to post!

And while a certain other sci-fi franchise is getting the lion's share
of media coverage these days (Episode I what?), games and all, from
what I gathered by looking at the games and talking with the
developers, Star Trek fans are in for a renaissance of high quality
games in the coming months!

Again, don't forget to check back often at our main E3 site, as Jeff Koga will be adding lots of new exclusive previews soon!

Jerusalem Post Reviews 'Trek Encyclopedia'Christian (2:05 pm CST)For some reason the Jerusalem Post seems to have classified this as 'Elections '99 Coverage,' but they've put up a review of the Star Trek Encyclopedia, distributed in Israel by Hed Artzi Multimedia. The review begins by introducing Trek to the Israeli audience:

For a TV series whose first pilot was rejected by NBC as "too cerebral" and which received mixed reviews when it was finally launched in 1966, Star Trek hasn't done too badly.
Reruns of the original three-season show are still seen in more than 100 countries, and the shows have been translated into dozens of languages; every month, a Star Trek novel is published by Pocket Books (63 million of these are already in print).

A query to an Internet search engine with the words "Star Trek" dug up over 90,000 mentions on the World Wide Web, including an official site at www.startrek.com; Star Trek conventions are held every weekend of every year in at least four US cities; a Purdue University study in 1993 found that US children learn more about science from Star Trek than from any other source, and a wide variety of spinoffs, including three dramatic TV series, an animated series, numerous feature films and consumer products have created a financial empire. Finally, the first NASA space shuttle, the Enterprise, was named in 1976 after it received 400,000 requests from the show's fans, known as Trekkies.

Jeri Ryan Convention ReportChristian (2:05 pm CST)'Captain Clerk' just put up a report of the recent Fed Con 7 convention, which was also attended by Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine). The report contains Jeri Ryan's views on several interesting things, such as homosexuality, Voyager movies and her own future on Trek. Take a look at her rather mysterious comments about that last issue:

I have a three year contract. The third year is season six. There will be seven seasons. At least seven. There may come more after that.

Find the full report here, thanks go out to Captain Clerk for posting about this to Usenet.

Shatner To Sing On '3rd Rock'Christian (2:04 pm CST)TV Guide has put up a small article dealing with William Shatner's upcoming guest appearance on '3rd Rock From The Sun,' NBC's comedy series. Take a look at how the article begins:

Courageous Captain Kirk of Star Trek saved the universe from aliens—now, he's becoming one. William Shatner will play Big Giant Head, the often mentioned but never seen extraterrestrial supreme commander on NBC's 3rd Rock From the Sun (May 25, 8 pm/ET). Big Giant Head arrives on Earth in the guise of a human to check out his alien expedition and quickly succumbs to mortal pleasures. "I'm totally drunk out of my head, and I lust after women," Shatner reveals. "I also get to sing and dance. That was great, because I'm a song-and-dance man at heart."

The full article has some more info on the Big Giant Head character Shatner will be playing, but also has Shatner talking about his Trek fans. Thanks go out to WebTrek for pointing me to this.

DEEP-SIXED There was no Klingon gagh or Vulcan plomeek soup on hand, and those were only two of the signs that the April 22 wrap party for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, at the Skybar in L.A.'s Mondrian hotel, was a decidedly earthbound affair. For one thing, some of the cast and crew used the occasion to express their disappointment that during their show's seven-year run, Paramount never supported it with the marketing muscle afforded siblings Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager. "There was definitely the middle-child syndrome," says DS9 exec producer Ira Behr. "But the upside was that the suits left us alone and we were able to take some creative risks."

Then there was the rather earthy scene that inadvertently interrupted festivities: As cocreator Rick Berman stood in the hotel courtyard to give one final speech, gazes wandered elsewhere. Specifically, to a window on the fourth floor, where an amorous and rather exhibitionistic couple prepared to do some boldly going of their own. Amid the pointing and whistles, one partygoer summed it up best: "Now, that's what I call the final frontier."

The final rating for Relativity is in, and Voyager got once again a bad rating. Voyager got a 3.3 and was nr. 91.

[...]

The strange thing was that the overnight rating for this episode was up 0.5, but it still only got a final rating that was up 0.1.
I havent got the complete rating list, so I don't know if Voyager was 6th or 5th. Tune in later for more on this.

The full report also contains some comments on the Voyager trailers, which the Universe thinks are the reason for the bad ratings.

The event will be held at Congregation Rodeph Sholom, located at 7 West 83rd Street at Central Park West, in Manhattan. Tickets may be purchased in advance for $18 through the 92nd Street Y Box Office, 1395 Lexington Avenue, NY, NY 10128 or by phoning Y-Charge (212) 996-1100. Tickets, if available, will also be sold on the night of the event at Congregation Rodeph Sholom.

The 92nd Street Y actually has an official web site, but no additional information about this can be found there. I found this info at the Shatner Event Calendar, which also lists a few other upcoming Shatner appearances. Tomorrow, for instance, he'll be appearing on three talk shows, including 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien.'

Captain Kirk has again left starship command for the microphone stand. Shatner sings "No Tears for Caesar" as a duet with rapper Rated R, formerly of Tupac Shakur's Thug Life Posse, on the soundtrack to the feature film "Free Enterprise." The film, starring Shatner and Eric McCormack, will be released June 4. The soundtrack is due out on June 15. A secret bonus track by Shatner is also included.

Ira Steven Behr Chat TranscriptChristian (2:01 pm CST)Surprisingly fast, the Continuum has put up the transcript of yesterday's chat with Ira Steven Behr, DS9's Executive Producer. The chat reads like having been a very emotional one, with many people thanking him for the great job he did, and so it's hard to pick out the three most interesting quotes - they're all worth reading. Still, below you'll find a small sample:

Charles A. Salter, N.C. asks:
I'm really going to miss new DS9 episodes, I really enjoy DS9 a lot, and just to say thanks for DS9 a great show, Do you plan on staying with Star Trek in any capacity, if not I'll be disappointed.

Ira Steven Behr:
No one has approached me with continuing my relationship with the Star Trek franchise. Certainly, if the series felt right to me and felt like it was going to take chances and not play it safe, I'd have some interest. But I think there's a very complicated relationship between DS9 and the powers that be. I think they're very proud of the show creatively, but I think they see it as a real anomaly within the franchise. And they could never be sure what kind of wacky thing I would do on the next show. So it's really kind of up in the air right now. But I really like this nice feedback. I usually come here to have Guy Vardaman say nice things about me.

Michael303 asks:
Hello Ira. Many thanks to you and the staff for seven great seasons. I'll miss it. Despite all the rumours, why hasn't there been serious discussion for a movie or mini-series. DS9 would fit greatly into the genre of a first class mini-series.

Ira Steven Behr:
I suppose it's possible that DS9 will have some kind of after life in the future. I think part of that decision will be based on how the finale does, what the fan response is, but like I said earlier, the sets, for the most part, have been torn down, which I have to take as a kind of an ominous sign. But I think what needs to be remembered, is that DS9 existed for 7 years, 176 episodes. We have a tendency in this country to always want more. It's like people used to talk about why did the Beatles break up? Why couldn't they stay together for another 10 years? I think it would be better to be thinking,:"Hey, isn't it great, look at all the wonderful music they made while they worked together." The Sex Pistols only recorded one album, but they said virtually everything they had to say in that one album, and they changed the face of pop music in many different ways. So let's try to concentrate on what DS9 was able to do, rather than mourning some alternate universe where it could have done more, or existed in another format.

Jam asks:
Did you have any story ideas for the "final chapter" which did not get implemented?

Ira Steven Behr:
Well, once again, I'd rather concentrate on what we were able to jam into that final episode, but just so you have some idea how we think... there was a part of me that did want to end the show on Benny Russell, the character Sisko played in "Far Beyond the Stars" At one point, Benny, now an old man, was going to die of natural causes and as he died we would go back to the station and end the series in the middle of a conversation between Quark and Kira, as if with his death, they cease to exist. The other idea was to have Benny Russell come to Deep Space Nine and in the midst of some kind of crisis suddenly realize that there was a camera pointed at him, and walk off the set through the soundstages, outside into the Paramount street, and I wanted to follow Benny Russell up to Rick Berman's office, where he would tell Rick that the series was over. But I think what we wind up doing is pretty cool too.

Again, I strongly recommend reading the full chat. If there's only one TrekToday link you click on today, make sure it's this one.

Continuum Klingon Academy PreviewChristian (2:00 pm CST)The official Star Trek Continuum has just put up a preview of Klingon Academy, the upcoming space combat simulator from Interplay. The preview contains a few quotes from Raphael Hernandez, the KA producer:

"Our Goal for STAR TREK: Klingon Academy was to create an all-new STAR TREK gaming experience, uniquely different from what has been seen before" stated Raphael Hernandez, Klingon's producer at Interplay. "Players are challenged to battle their warships through a simulated war campaign against the Federation - all of which is set in diverse, tactical environments which include asteroid fields, black holes, ion storms and nebulae. Additionally, Klingon Academy is the first look at battle from what has traditionally been the enemy side."

The full review contains info on the game's story and gameplay, but also has a preview movie available.

Starbase-1 Coffee Company, Ltd. [...] is pleased to announce that it is embarking on new Star Trek(TM) Bottled Water (``Altair Water'') program that will complement its current product lines of coffee, candies, chocolates and other novelty items. The Star Trek(TM) Bottled Water program will be launched in both the United States and Canada within the next 90 days. The bottled water products will be offered in a wide range of sizes from 12 ounces to 1.5 liter. In addition, the water will be bottled in a customized, and patented new plastic bottle contributing to the uniqueness of the product.

[...]

The Star Trek(TM) Bottled Water will be sold through a wide network of North American beverage brokers and distributors that will insure the product's availability and proper representation. It is targeted for sale in all the various trade categories including, retail, grocery, club stores, drug stores, convenience stores, military, food services and special events. In addition a special web-site will be available where Star Trek fans can order their water direct, or find the closest location to them.

The company is already responsible for Trek coffee, chocolate, lollipops and beverage bottles, so I'm sure they'll be able to get lots of fans to buy the bottled water. More information (if you really want it) can be found in the actual press release.

After the U.S.S. Voyager receives a distress signal from an alien missile, Ensign Kim, Torres and The Doctor determine that it's a complex, damaged weapon with artificial intelligence and sentient consciousness. But when they beam this mysterious device aboard, it interlinks with The Doctor's program and through him, insists the U.S.S. Voyager enable it to fulfill its mission of mass destruction.

Thanks go out to the Continuum for both the description and the picture, which is of course copyrighted by Paramount.

-Tonight at 7:00pm and at 11:00pm Eastern Time, the SciFi Channel will be showing 'The Menagerie, Part One.'

-Tomorrow at 17:00 and at 23:30 BST, the British Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Paradise.'

-Daring deBoer: the Unofficial Nicole deBoer Fan Club includes a biography, filmography, tons of pictures, links and message boards. It's also a regular source of Trek news for TrekToday, so I strongly recommend checking it out!
-Dave's Women of Star Trek presents us with a look at the regular and major recurring female characters of the Star Trek universe, and the beautiful women who brought them to life.

Hello World!Christian (1:58 pm CST)Sorry for being so late, but less than 4 hours ago the Dutch government fell, and, as you can imagine, that is taking up quite a bit of my attention at the moment. Fortunately I had already prepared most of today's headlines before the post-resignation parliamentary debate started, so I will at least be able to do an update today. However, I probably won't be able to answer any mail today - if you sent me mail, I haven't forgotten about you, and I'll be answering tomorrow!

For those of you who are interested, this article describes the problems as they existed a few hours before the actual resignation, and this article describes the actual resignation. In the unlikely event anyone is interested in my political views, I have to say I find this an incredibly sad day. Not only has the government fallen, it also means that the introduction of the referendum in the Netherlands has been set back by at least 5 years, and that is a huge blow for the Dutch democratic system. In light of that, though, I strongly support the decision by coalition partner Democrats '66 to leave the government - the party (which I'm a member of) would have become totally unbelievable had it not done so.

Star Trek Insurrection, which was scheduled to open in Argentina in April
22, will instead go direct-to-video in that country. Argentina is the
biggest Trek market in South America (all the 4 series are broadcast in
Argentina) and this is the first time a Trek movie is not released in
Argentina. Likewise, Insurrection only played in Brazil for 2 weeks last
february, making the poorly Trek box-office in brazilian theatres.

Well, I don't need to tell you this is Bad News. Thanks go out to Gustavo Leao for reporting this.

Here we are, back again. And it's nice to be back. Hopefully this first post-baby issue will come out not too confused from lack of sleep or something!

On behalf of Miriam, Owen, and I, thank you very much for the many congratulatory letters we received. They were a great delight to us all! Mom and Baby are continuing to do well, by the way! And we both love this growing-so-fast boy like the dickens!

And he wears us out too. Sorry we're a day late here, but I basically fell asleep over the keyboard last night.

The full newsletter contains an assortment of Trek news, a book review, a featured article, a birthday lis and a list of Trek-related Products & Happenings. In case you didn't receive the new issue, you can find it online by going here.

On June 2nd at 8:00pm on your Fox affiliate, Avery is scheduled to present (or perform, I haven't nailed this down yet) at the 1999 Essence Awards. In addition, there will be viewing parties that evening of this event at The Shark Bar Restaurants in New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles.

You can find the official site of the Essence Awards here, though strangely enough Brooks isn't mentioned there.

Interesting 'Extreme Measures' TidbitChristian (1:19 pm CST)Holly Kim Wilson just pointed out to me that the official Continuum is still listing this week's episode as 'Night Tremors.' As the press releases and the trailers both called it by its new title, 'Extreme Measures,' my guess is they're still using the new name.

New 'Jammer's Reviews'Christian (1:18 pm CST)Slightly delayed, Jamahl Epsicokhan at Star Trek Hypertext has put up reviews for DS9's 'When It Rains...' and Voyager's '11:59,' both of which aired somewhat over a week ago. In his 'When It Rains...' review he starts by noting how most of it is merely set-up for what's to come:

Someone wrote me an e-mail saying these "Final Chapter" episodes seem to be coming off as 90 percent setup and only about 10 percent riveting stories. I find that's an interesting take on the matter--and although I personally think it's a somewhat harsh assessment (setup itself can be riveting), I certainly can see the argument.

"When it Rains..." seems to be a good example of this mindset. This episode offers more plot into the mix, but the feel of the episode is somewhat off-kilter. It's probably the most frustrating yet of the "Final Chapter" episodes, because it moves along for an hour and then suddenly halts in its tracks, with virtually no resolution. If you were like me and weren't watching the clock, you might've been blindsided by the suddenness of the "executive producers" credit appearing.

Issues of multi-part structure aside, "When it Rains..." has a somewhat excessive title. The title seems to imply we're going to be plunged into the Abyss of Despair, perhaps for the last time before the series heads into final wrap-up. I don't think that was the case nor the intention. What is the case, rather, is that we have more setup of plot and character directions, with some interesting new revelations--as the elements continue to pile up.

He then goes on to analyze all the various plot lines and ultimately awards the episode with 3 out of 4 stars, as you can read in the full review. This is also the same score Voyager's '11:59' receives, full reasons for that can be found here.

Ira Steven Behr Chat TodayChristian (1:15 pm CST)Today at the special time of 03:30pm Pacific Time, the Continuum will be hosting a live chat with DS9 Executive Producer Ira Steven Behr. He'll be answering your questions about the final DS9 episodes, and will quite probably also give some info on his future projects. If you want to know how you can participate, you can find the relevant information here.

On Thursday, meanwhile, the Continuum will be hosting a live chat with John DeLancie, most famous for his role as Q on the various modern Star Trek series. Advance questions for him can also already be submitted.

Only one word can describe ST's ratings on BBC2 for this week - owch! Both TNG and DS9 suffered badly at the hands of the snooker championships. Even Scotty couldn't save TNG's "Relics" from getting the worst audience figure this year (yes, 1999, not Season 6) - 2.28m. If you look at this week's updated graphs, this dip in ratings seems to be repeating itself every four weeks. Still on BBC2, DS9 made no "Progress" (pun intended), as it was yet again unranked - therefore getting a rating lower than 1.78m, probably the lowest this year too.

Fortunately, Sky saved the week with an excellent rating for Voyager. The second episode of the season, "Drone", was beaten only by top first-run programmes Friends and ER - and even then gave ER a run for its money with 680,000 viewers compared to ER's 690,000. Voyager beated The X-Files by another 10,000 viewers.

A full listing of all the ratings, plus graphs showing the weekly performance, can be found at the Ratings page.

Patrick Stewart NewsChristian (1:14 pm CST)The Continuum has put up a news report detailing exactly what Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) is currently doing, now that he's not playing the role of Starfleet Captain anymore:

On the musical front, Stewart will be narrating "A Soldier's Tale" by Stravinsky June 17- 19 and 23 with the San Francisco Symphony at its home venue in that city.
Next, on July 21, he narrates for mezzo-soprano Susan Graham and pianist Emanuel Ax the Boston-area Tanglewood Music Festival production of Strauss' "Enoch Arden," a melodrama after Alfred Lord Tennyson. Two days later he will narrate a second Strauss production.

May 21st, he receives an honorary doctoral degree from the venerable Juilliard School in New York City. "The world has been enriched by your artistry and vision," the school mentioned in its letter to Stewart in announcing the honor. Last April, he received the American Theatre Wing award along with fellow actors Ossie Davis, Kevin Kline, Jason Robards and Sam Waterston. The honors selected by the same organization behind Broadway's Tony awards. These are the people who do the Tony awards for NY stage.
Also this summer, listen for Stewart's narration of a documentary on the Panchen Lama for the International Campaign for Tibet, to be released this summer.

Lastly, Stewart will soon be honoured with a special wax statue in Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in Las Vegas and London. Find the original report here.

'Birth Of The Federation' SurpriseChristian (1:13 pm CST)The Trek Gaming Alliance has just posted the rather surprising news that 'Birth of the Federation,' the upcoming turn-based strategy game from Microprose, will feature the Defiant- and Sovereign-Class starships! The reason this wasn't mentioned before is that Microprose/Hasbro weren't allowed by Paramount to use this in promoting the game, but their inclusion has been planned since day one.

Jonathan Frakes Directs UFO ComedyChristian (1:12 pm CST)AnotherUniverse's Daily Buzz is reporting that Jonathan Frakes (William T. Riker) is co-producing Roswell High, a 1950s-era comedy about three teenage aliens who survived the legendary UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico and went to high school there. The show originally started as a project for Fox, but will now air on the WB network. Besides Frakes, executive producers will include Jason Katims of 'The Pallbearer' and Lisa Olin, who was Frakes' assistant on 'Star Trek: First Contact.' This isn't the first time Frakes has been involved in a Roswell-related project - a few years ago he also presented the 'Beyond Belief: Alien Autopsy' specials on Fox.

More On 'Gene Roddenberry's Starship'Christian (1:12 pm CST)I'm currently kicking myself for not remembering this myself, but 'Michael Marek' at Cinescape has put up some extra info on the new 'Gene Roddenberry's Starship' series, which will feature a character named Dylan Hunt:

Dylan Hunt was the lead character in three made-for-TV movies in the 1970s made as pilots for a new Roddenberry TV series, [...] in which astronaut Dylan Hunt is accidentally stuck in suspended animation in Carlsbad Caverns and wakes up hundreds of years in the future, after a nuclear war. The planet has divided into many small states with many different cultural mores. Hunt gets tied up with a group called PAX which is working for peace and understanding. They have a futuristic "subshuttle" world-wide subway system that allows them to get around. Roddenberry indicated that with this concept, he could have Star Trek's "new civilizations" all while remaining on Earth of the future.

The main plot of Genesis II is mutants with two navels who seem to be good guys but are really bad guys. The head mutant was played by Mariette Hartley. Hunt was played by Alex Cord. [...] It sounds like Gene Roddenberry's Starship is a reworking of this subject, but set in space as opposed to on a single planet.

Indeed, David Alexander's 'Star Trek Creator' mentions there are still fifteen Genesis II scripts lying around, written by Roddenberry himself, so there should be enough story material left. On the other hand, the Genesis II Dylan hunt was a NASA scientist, who had 'woken up' again after 154 years of suspended animation, while the 'Starship' Dylan Hunt will apparently be the Captain of a ship of Galactic trouble-shooters. Also, Genesis II was set just after an atomic war on Earth, while Dylan Hunt 'leaves Earth to study the far reaches of the universe,' and 'discover worlds that are vastly different from the humanistic and civilized society he left behind.' I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it turns out.

If, however, you have your own ideas on how the series should turn out, a special thread about this has been created at the Trek BBS - let the world know what you think here!

Raven E3 PicturesChristian (1:09 pm CST)
Raven programmer Rick Johnson mentioned in his .plan file yesterday that he's posted some E3 pictures he took while he was attending last week's Electronic Entertainment Expo. Although most of the several dozen pictures he's posted don't have anything to do with Voyager, about five of them still show places such as the Activision Star Trek area or the actual Voyager game being demoed. You can find the full list of pictures by going here. Meanwhile, our reporter Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga is still hard at work writing up his own exclusive preview of the Voyager game, which should go up very soon indeed at our special E3 site.

The line of fans awaiting the May 19 premiere of ``Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace'' at Mann's Chinese Theater is steadily creeping toward the offices of DVD EXPRESS, just steps away on Hollywood Boulevard.

So, DVD EXPRESS (http://www.dvdexpress.com), the largest online video retailer, has enlisted its new neighbors as DVD movie reviewers for its Web site and dedicated a special ``Camp Star Wars'' tribute to these Jedi stalwarts. DVD EXPRESS has helped to arm the laptop computers of the fans in line with DVD-ROM drives as well as provide them with scores of DVD movies to watch while they wait.

One of the reviewers was Danny Kovoloff, who was asked to review the DVD of 'Star Trek: First Contact.' Check out some of his comments about the movie:

Q: How's the acting?
A: Acting was about par for the Star Trek series. They played the characters they know, so the acting was fine.

Q: And the audio/video quality... what's your feeling there?
A: Audio/video quality was fine. I have it at home and watch it on a Dolby Surround system and it sounds very, very nice.

You can find Danny's full review by going here, while the press release describing the actual hiring by DVD Express can be found here at Yahoo!

Today on TVChristian (1:08 pm CST)-At 7:00pm and at 11:00pm Eastern Time, the SciFi Channel will be showing 'The Corbomite Maneuver,' which was actually the first regular Original Series episode ever filmed.

-Tomorrow at 17:00 and at 23:30 BST, British Sky One will be showing the rather good DS9 episode 'Whispers.'

Trek BBS TodayChristian (1:07 pm CST)At the rate we're progressing now, we could very well reach 200 registered members before the month is over! Together with all the unregistered posters, everyone is participating actively in the discussions at the Trek BBS, talking about topics such as the following three:

-What are your thoughts on the recent announcement that Kevin 'Hercules' Sorbo will be starring in a Roddenberry series?

-Star Trek: The Past Future --- Welcome Aboard USS Selina NCC-25796-A is a Chinese homepage introducing Star Trek, made by a Chinese living in Hong Kong. Stories, ships and characters information included. Unfortunately, as the Chinese language plug-in is required to view the site, I haven't got a clue if that's really what's on the site, but I'm sure it's good :-).
-The Cynics Corner Interactive provides Voyager and Deep Space Nine reviews with a cynical spin, and is a regular TrekToday source.

Burke has a nickname for Torres - "blt" as in "bacon lettuce tomato", which is also her initials. Paris gets a little jealous, wondering if he needs to go to Red Alert, or even Yellow as a result. ;)

Harry Kim calls Paris "pastrami on rye" as a joke.

Note that this info is either already a few months old, from an incomplete script, or not fully complete for a completely different reason. The info that *is* mentioned here should be correct, though. Major thanks go out to Faith for this - let's hope she'll have some season six info soon :-).

Tom Paris SpeaksChristian (2:21 pm CST)The British 'Star Trek Monthly Magazine' recently interviewed Robert Duncan McNeill, and the Founders were so kind as to put up a transcript at the Great Link. The interview contains the rather interesting news that the Trek Typecasting problem seems to be over:

"The world of Star Trek, within the entertainment industry, is something of a deserted island, we certainly are a recognisable brand and viewers around the world know us very well, but I think it's very surprising that people in the industry we work in don't look at Star Trek actors with a whole lot [appreciation]...it doesn't mean the same thing as being on Friends or ER for five years, and I think the disparity is frustrating."

"I get really annoyed when I go for a meeting and the casting director or the producer or whatever says, 'So, tell me about yourself. What have you been doing?' And they have no idea. I'll say, 'I've been on Star Trek for five years,' and they're like, 'Oh wow, I haven't seen that!'. But you know what? The bottom line is, I don't really care what people in the industry think that much, because I know what we've done is great work. And when you look at the whole picture, I'm much happier that I've been able to do Star Trek: Voyager than most of the other shows I could think of. It's been a really great experience."

"So I'm very grateful to have been able to be a part of it. And hopefully we'll be able to do it for a lot longer."

More is to be found in the full interview, including comments on Voyager's fifth season, the continued development of Tom Paris and the relationship between Tom and B'Elanna.

Cynics Corner Reviews 'Tacking Into'Christian (2:21 pm CST)Incredibly, this is the *fifth* post in a row dealing in some part with 'Tacking Into The Wind' - are there still people left who haven't reviewed it yet? Even David E. Sluss at the Cynics Corner seems to like the episode, as he awards it a 9.3 and calls it the 'best DS9 episode in years.' Even so, he still found some problems with the episode:

DISCONTINUITY OF THE WEEK RUNNER-UP:Has everyone on DS9's writing staff forgotten about Odo's need to regenerate? What's this about Odo "resting" by laying on a bunk? Since shape-shifting and maintaining other forms is accelerating the disease, and since Odo's humanoid shape is not his natural form, wouldn't it be best for Odo to remain liquid as much as possible, particularly at the end, when the fact that he has failed to fool Kira is revealed? Break out the bucket.

DSN has been successful, but not as successful as TNG, Ira admits that : "...on one level it was frustrating, but I think we brought the cult back into Star Trek. There were people who liked The Next Generation who never struck me as Science Fiction fans, to tell you the truth. I think The Next Generation was a very accessible show, a very non-threatening show. I think that Deep Space Nine gave fans an opportunity to get on board, to have an interesting, unique experience. That's all we could try to do. Did we want to have more media coverage? Did we want The X-Files kind of thing? It would have been nice. But, ultimately [by not sitting directly in the spotlight and, therefore, not under quite as much constant scrutiny], we had a lot of creative freedom to do whatever we wanted. And Deep Space Nine was the better for it."

Now that's more like it. I said last week that "When It Rains..." wasn't bad, but was somewhat padded in terms of setting for future material. Well, where "When It Rains..." was setup, "Tacking Into the Wind" is the beginning of the payoff, and as such is an episode where you're more likely to sit back and enjoy the ride. The episode isn't always as meaty as it might be, but it's tackling an awful lot.

The Great Link has put up some comments by Voyager cast members about the two latest Voyager episodes of this season, 'Warhead' and 'Equinox.' First up is Garrett Wang speaking about 'Warhead:'

Warhead is about Kim being in command of the bridge during night shift, basically, he leads an Away Team to investigate this automated distress signal, and he finds this machine which turns out to be an intelligent bomb.

Then he goes on to talk about 'Equinox,' the season finale:

The story revolves around us coming across another Federation ship, it's a science vessel - it's not a ship made for deep space exploration. But they, like us, were ripped into the Delta Quadrant. And these people have had similar experiences to the Voyager crew, but have followed a different path. Basically, the episode asks what would happen if a starship got lost in the Delta Quadrant, not unlike the Voyager, but didn't have a captain who tries to stick to the confines of Starfleet protocols. The other ship's commander has decided to break the regulations, so they have a renegade captain. He's played by John Savage, who viewers may know from The Deer Hunter, and he's a really interesting actor.

So the first time we see them, they're under attack from an alien species. We help them out, and it's only afterwards that we find out that the captain has broken away from Starfleet.

Lastly, co-star Robert Duncan McNeill had some comments about 'Equinox:'

I think people are going to be really excited about the finale, it's real ensemble show. It kind of involves every body. It's one of those episodes where every one has their own way of participating....I know there's been a lot of talk about Voyager getting back to the Alpha Quadrant this year, this episode definitely toys with that idea.

Physician, Heal ThyselfChristian (2:17 pm CST)Reuters is reporting that Andy Dick, who starred as the EMH Mark 2 on Voyager's 'Message In A Bottle,' has been arrest on drunk driving and drug possession charges after his car crashed into a utility pole in an upscale section of Los Angeles.

Dick, 33, allegedly fled the scene of the accident Saturday but was later arrested and booked on charges of driving under the influence and possessing a controlled substance.
He allegedly was in possession of cocaine and marijuana, a policewoman said.

Dick was released after posting $10,000 bail. A court appearance on the charges was set for May 25. He was driving through Hancock Park, an affluent section of Los Angeles when the accident occurred.
The actor, known for his physical comedy and sarcastic wit, plays a bumbling reporter on "NewsRadio," a situation comedy set in an all-news radio station in New York City.

I could insert some comments about the infamous Dutch drug policy here but I think I'll refrain. Find the full article here, thanks go out to David Henderson at Psi Phi for pointing me to this.

I've heard Star Trek critics call the fourth-season addition of Worf to DS9 a shamelessly commercial move. That seems a rather excessive complaint, to me: given the importance and popularity of Klingons in the Star Trek universe, adding the Starfleet officer is both logical and good business -- Vulcans and Ferengi alike would approve. (Adding a busty blonde in a skin-tight bodysuit that leaves nothing to the imagination -- now *that* would have been shameless. And I say that as one who appreciates 7 of 9 the character and Jeri Ryan the actress.)

For me, the best part about bringing Worf onto the show is that it's allowed Martok to be brought to the show. I find the one-eyed Klingon general to be the most likable Klingon on any Trek show. and he's one of my favorite characters on DS9. (Funny how so many of my best-liked characters aren't regulars but recurring ones like Dukat, Nog and Martok.) Not only is he supportive, unpretentious and good-humored, he's been able to bring Worf back into the Klingon fold, making Worf more interesting as well. When "The Way of the Warrior" introduced Worf and made him a Klingon outcast -- again -- it seemed a rerun of storylines we'd already seen on The Next Generation. Having him be a fussy, perfectionist bride groom struck me as a much moreinteresting use of Worf.

Deep Space Nine's Captain Sisko, Avery Brooks, was in Gary, IN, on Thursday to receive an honorary Doctor of Theater Arts degree from Indiana University-Northwest. His mother taught music and education there, and Brooks himself attended the college from 1966 to 1968.

Continuum 'Tacking Into...' SynopsisChristian (2:15 pm CST)The official Continuum has put up their synopsis of 'Tacking Into The Wind,' last week's new DS9 episode. If you missed the episode and still want to know what happened, this is probably your best bet - at least you'll know for certain you'll fully understand 'Extreme Measures.' Find the full synopsis here.

Auberjonois Critical About Season 7Christian (2:14 pm CST)In an interview which René Auberjonois (Odo) recently gave to the British 'Star Trek Monthly Magazine,' he's not very positive about the final Deep Space Nine season:

? "Am I pleased with season seven? I'm going to honest with you, not that I haven't always been honest with you, but I may have been more political,. Now that we're coming to the end, I'll be completely frank. I believe that an incredible chance has not been taken advantage of, and that was the opportunity to have a whole year to end a series after a very successful run. It's hard for me to imagine what the writers and producers would have written about if Terry Farrell had remained with the show [as Jadzia Dax]."

"For me, when you're in your seventh season and you're tired of the make-up, you've really investigated your character inside out and upside down and you love the fact that you're making the most money you ever made in your life and you're only asked to work one or two days a week, it's fine. You're still getting paid. You still have people loving your character. The work that you do get to do is interesting and challenging. I've been allowed to go off and do a lot of other things. [...] There is no resentment on my part that it hasn't been about Odo. This show has been plenty about Odo and I don't in any way feel that I've been overlooked."

"What's happened now is we suddenly have seven shows left to do and the producers have had to say 'Oh my God, we have to end this thing', and they're jamming the stories together. The scripts are much too long. I'm actually talking as a director now. I just did an episode [Strange Bedfellows] which was a full act too long. We shot a full day's more work than could ever be in the show because they're trying to jam the stories in, to wind them up."

Regular Cinescape contributor 'Michael Marek' returns with another of his spoiler-packed looks at this week's upcoming episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine titled "Extreme Measures." As you know, the series is in final approach to its series finale. If you would rather not know what's going to happen, move on to the next story by using the handy link. If you must know now, click here.

Or, more accurately, click here, as Cinescape's Javascripts prevent a direct link to the story.

-Joe's Trek Page is designed to keep you updated on information of the Dominion war, for those of you who missed an episode.
-The United Federation of Trekkers is a growing Star Trek fan club with lots of images and a news service!

It has been placed on hiatus -- which means we are not working on it. But we haven't been promising that it will be coming out and then not shipping it after an extended period of time, missing previously promised release dates, which is the literally definition of vaporware.

Will it ever see the light of day? Honestly, I don't think so. The odds are against it, and getting worse every month. By the time we get around to it, it would be old technology -- which would mean that it would cost even more money to get it into shape and ship it. And more time. And more people. Yadda-yadda-yadda.

That, however, is not the offical Interplay position. Officially, it's on hiatus. Not cancelled, not in the release queue. Just sitting there.

I guess that means the absolute end for this great-looking game, then. It's a sad day indeed.

'The Dogs Of War' PreviewChristian (1:10 pm CST)Star Trek Interactive! has put up the trailers for 'The Dogs Of War,' the last regular Deep Space Nine episode ever. The preview is available as either an MPEG or an ASF video file, as an MP3 audio file, or as a zipped archive of images. There even is a mirror site available for faster downloading, which is good, as Star Trek Interactive itself seems to be extremely slow at the moment. Find the new preview here.

'Birth of the Federation' Best-Seller?Christian (1:10 pm CST)Matthew Smith just sent me a rather interesting bit of news about the upcoming turn-based strategy game from Microprose. According to the June issue of PC Gamer UK, 'Birth of the Federation' has entered the official sales top 20 at No. 9! Considering the game won't be arriving in stores for more than a week, I must say this is rather surprising - the only explanation I can think of is that thousands of people have already pre-ordered the game, which would certainly be good news. Matthew also mentioned that this new PC Gamer issue contains the 'PC Gamer Top 100 Awards of All Time,' which includes Microprose's 'Klingon Honour Guard' at No. 89:

The inevitable Startrek license made it in time for last Christmas, but felt a bit hurried as a consequence. Although nicely realised and plotted, its graphics are messy at times and the levels never quite live up to those of Unreal. It's better than Generations, and, thanks to the Klingon tie-in, has a good excuse for offering plenty of violence. Deeply intriguing, then, but could have been better.

Major thanks go out to Matthew Smith for sending this in!

Star Trek CCG Publisher RedesignsChristian (1:10 pm CST)Decipher, the publishers of the Star Trek Customizable Card Game, just finished a major redesign of their web site. Their branding the new site as being 'co-designed' by all the Decipher web fans:

We think you'll like Decipher.com (version 3.0, by the way) a lot. After all, you designed it. Well, we didn't actually sit down with each of you.... But we've been listening very closely to everything you've told us through Web site polls (the recent poll gave us 157 print pages of your comments), Message Board posts and emails to Decipher. We also examined our daily reports that tell us lots about your use of Decipher.com.

More can be found in the full article describing the change, written by Rich Loftus.

Ira Steven Behr
Tuesday , May 18th, 1999 03:30 PM (PT)
Ira Steven Behr (Executive Producer on ST:DS9) will be joining us at a special day and time to discuss the final episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine!

Quite probably he'll also be talking on what he'll be doing now that DS9 had ended - if you want to ask him about that, you can do so by submitting a question about that. If you want to know how you can participate you should go here.

Ezri Dax Fact FileChristian (1:07 pm CST)Daring deBoer has put up a transcript of the recent Ezri Dax article which appeared in Star Trek Fact Files, an official Paramount publication. The article includes a detailed description of Ezri Dax's life, but also contains several photos of scenes in which the ninth host of Dax appeared in. It's certainly useful if you're like me and haven't seen any of the 7th season episodes yet - the fact file tells you everything you might want to know about Ezri. You can find the article by going here.

Psi Phi has put up a partial press release for 'Equinox,' Voyager's season finale. Besides a listing of the show's creative staff and guest actors, the press release also contains a mini-synopsis of the episode:

Janeway meets the captain (John Savage) of a science vessel, also stranded in Delta Quadrant; Voyager crew members start to disappear.

Happy Birthday Yvonne Craig!Christian (1:06 pm CST)Today is the 62nd birthday of Yvonne Craig, the actress best known for her role as Batgirl on the 'Batman' television series. She also appeared on the Star Trek original series episode 'Whom Gods Destroy' as Marta, the mad Orion slave girl, a role for which she is still fondly remembered by Trek fans over the world. However, she herself also likes to keep in touch with her fans, which is why she provided TrekToday a few days ago with a personal message to all her Star Trek fans:

"Thanks so much for all your support through the years
and your continued interest in the Star Trek series and the character
that I played - little did I know as I was being painted green each
morning for the "Marta" scenes, that some 30 years later this character
would still be a favorite of some of the fans - It's not easy being
green (as a frog from Sesame Street once told me), but you have
certainly made it much easier for me - THANKS".

If you want to know more about Yvonne Craig, you might want to visit her personal web site, which is how I was able to contact her for this personal message in the first place. The site also gives you the opportunity to obtain autographed pictures, and has lots of info about Yvonne Craig's career. Major thanks go out to Yvonne Craig for being kind enough to write up a personal message to her fans, and, of course, a happy birthday!

-There is no argument about the fact that Trek is rapidly loosing popularity. The ratings are going down with each new season, and Insurrection's performance at the box office wasn't exactly stellar. Does Trek still have a chance or is it dying?

-Why is this the last season of Deep Space Nine? Wouldn't a seventh season have been possible?

-In a move which probably isn't politically correct, we look at the best-looking women in Voyager.

Of course, if you object to the above thread you can always add a 'Best Looking Men' thread to the Trek BBS - remember, no registration is required!

New at TrekSeek.comChristian (1:03 pm CST)And WOOHOO! TrekSeek has reached 1100 sites, once again showing that we're truly the largest, most accessible Star Trek search engine on the net. Check out 3 of the 11 new sites that were added yesterday:

-From the pen of Chris Gregory has details of the new Star Trek book, Star Trek: Parallel Narratives, which dissects the whole phenomenon! Sections on mythological, psychological, political and social themes in Star Trek. Emphasis on how development of new Trek series influenced by evolution of writing team.
-Adventures of the USS Phantom chronicles the on-going adventures of the ship and crew of the USS Phantom. Features crew bios and a whole new ship class.
-BarFleet Academy is a Star Trek Parody sim. They allow you to blow up the warp core and act like an idiot unlike other online RPGs.

Hello World!Christian (1:03 pm CST)There is an *incredibly* small amount of news today - I had to search for hours to come up with the little news you see here above, and some news items wouldn't even have made it to TrekToday on a normal day. It really makes me fear for hiatus - I wonder how much news there'll be then...

Saturday May 15, 1999

Personal Message From Nicole deBoerChristian (1:49 pm CST)
Yesterday was the 2nd day of the Electronic Entertainment Expo, and our reporter Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga had a great day! He met with the development teams of 'Armada,' 'Voyager: Elite Force' and 'Insurrection,' and he was extremely enthusiastic about these three games. He'll be writing up detailed reports over the coming week, but you might perhaps be interested in the following preliminary release dates:

'Insurrection' - 11/99.

'Armada' 12/99 or 1/2000, though the game is ahead of schedule (the voice-overs from Patrick Stewart have already been taped!)

'Voyager: Elite Force' 3/2000.

Even though the meetings with the development teams were absolutely fascinating, the highlight of the day was clearly his meeting with Nicole deBoer, who was promoting the DS9 - The Fallen game at E3. Nicole deBoer was kind enough to write down a special personal message to all her fans on the internet, which you can find by going here. Also, don't forget to check back often at our main E3 site, as Jeff Koga will be adding lots of new exclusive previews soon!

I discovered in the process of trying to make a copy of ST:I I rented that it incorporates the current Paramount Copy Protection (i.e.: Fading Light to Dark, and red tint), so any fan who wants a homemade copy to hold you over until ST:I goes retail, sorry.

Of course, there is also the little matter of homemade copies being illegal, but I guess that would just be picking nits :-).

New Communicator Focuses On DS9's EndChristian (1:45 pm CST)Gustavo Leao just pointed me to a page describing the new issue of the Star Trek Communicator, the magazine of the Official Star Trek Fan Club. Take a look at what the new issue has in store for you:

Bon Voyage DS9 Part One
So much to talk about as Deep Space Nine bids adieu in June that we have to start now...by gleaning the memories and feelings of FIFTEEN of the series' vaunted supporting cast..with even more to come next month.

More info on the new issue can be found by going here, which is also where you'll be able to actually buy the new issue.

The Last Days Of DaxChristian (1:43 pm CST)NOTE: The below update *could* contain some minor spoilers for DS9's Final Chapter - it all depends on how many episodes you have already seen. If you really want to be on the safe side, I'd advise you to click here to move on to the next update.

Daring deBoer (which used to be 'Obsessive Attitudes: Nicole deBoer') has re-printed an article which first appeared in the June issue fo Starlog magazine, entitled 'The Last Days of Dax.' The article contains a rather amusing part dealing with the Ezri/Bashir relationship:

deBoer speaks highly of both Dorn and Siddig, but her conversation about them quickly shifts in another direction. "Michael and Sid are different guys. Very different," deBoer says, chuckling. "I've really just started doing my stuff with Sid now. In all honesty, I forgot the many, many scenes I had with Sid over the season. I guess I was thinking they were going to go with Ezri and Worf. I wasn't thinking at all about a relationship with Julian. So, I had all these scenes with Julian and I just assumed it was a friendship. That's the way I always played it."

"When I was doing the scenes with Worf, where we were in prison together, I asked the writers, 'So, what's going to happen?' Whenever they tell me anything, they have a little smile on their faces. They said, 'Well, you guys are going to get together, but not for very long. You'll find that you're just friends. Your true love hasn't come along yet. He's coming up.' I was like, 'Who?! Who is it?!' But they wouldn't tell me. Once I realized they were really going to put Ezri and Julian together, I wondered. 'Well, have we ever shown any chemistry in the past?' Then I looked back on the episodes and remembered how many scenes Ezri actually had with Julian."

The full article has deBoer talking about the upcoming end of DS9, but also includes several pictures taken from Starlog - go check it out!

I was at a Convention in Melbourne Australia today and the guest was Garrett Wang. He said from the Season 6 stories he has seen so far, Voyager doesn't get back to the Alpha Quadrant yet. His opinion is that Paramount will use the Delta Quadrant all it can before they go back. Also he confirmed the rumor that Kate Mulgrew wanted to leave the series because of her family. but every time he asked her she kept changing her mind one minute she was leaving the next she wasn't. But he said the last time he asked she was staying.

More Year 6 rumours will undoubtedly be posted here as they become available.

A lot of people really love to fly. Go to any airport, in any city, on any day, and you can't help but spot them, skipping playfully along the moving sidewalks, whistling as they check their bags, always making sure they arrive at least two hours before their scheduled departure. Kids, adults, old people, these happy passengers come in all shapes and sizes. Inside the flight cabin, you'll invariably find them sitting in their assigned seats, buckled securely, smiling, sipping slowly at their little plastic cups full of 7-Up. They are courteous, well-behaved, and cheerful at all times. They keep their tray tables in the upright and locked position, and they'd never dream of causing a moment's trouble for their flight attendants. They're the lively, life-of-the-party people who'll brighten your flight by yelling "He-e-e-e-e-ere we go-o-o-o" as you take off, and later, launch into an appreciative round of applause as you land.

These people make me sick, and I'd like to personally smack every one of them in the head.

More on his hatred of flying, plus a convention report, can be found in the full excerpt.

Leonard Nimoy Chat TranscriptChristian (1:41 pm CST)In case you missed last Thursday's live chat with Leonard Nimoy (Spock) at the Continuum, they've just put up the full chat transcript. Take a look at a few of the more interesting quotes:

Derek asks:
I heard you were given a chance to be in Star Trek: Generations, but that you refused. Why?

Leonard Nimoy:
I was actually asked to direct the picture as well as appear in it. Sadly, I had a difference of opinion regarding the story, and there really wasn't a specific Spock role for me to play, so I had to forego both.

Nameless (my chat disguise) asks:
Have you ever considered visiting one of the Star Trek chat rooms? I think it would be interesting to have some of the TOS cast around for the trivia sessions in the Academy Lounge.

Leonard Nimoy:
I visited one of the chats some years ago and found it frustrating because nobody believed I was really there.

Danwheels asks:
Hello Mr. Nimoy, great to talk to you! My Question is: I am a phyically challenged confined to a wheelchair. Do you think total equality for people will ever happen as it has done in the Trek universe?

Leonard Nimoy:
The most compelling ST episode dealing with this issue was the one in which Spock hijacks the Enterprise to take the injured Capt. Pike to the forbidden Thalos IV planet where he can live a full mental existance. The Menagerie. I had this conversation with Stephen Hawking. The issue and question is, when will science catch up with science fiction? Perhaps one day all of the wonderful concepts which have been developed by imaginative writers will be fulfilled by equally talented scientists. After all, the idea of space travel and moon landings came from the writers first and the science followed.

The Continuum: Andrew RobinsonChristian (1:41 pm CST)Deborah Fisher at the Star Trek Continuum has put up an interview with Andrew Robinson (Garak). Actually, it was apparently put up on the 30th of April, but since I haven't read about it anywhere yet I thought I'd post about it here as well :-). The interview even contains some info on his new book - 'Garak's Memoirs:'

Robinson is writing Garak's memoirs. "One of the things that got me writing was talking with fans who love to talk to me about my character. I got tired of repeating things, like explaining makeup, and wanted to do something different. I started writing Garak's memoirs as if they written by him, finding areas of life that interested me. When I started reading them at conventions, it was enormously popular. [Writer] David George [DS9 novel #23, The 34th Rule, written with Armin Shimerman and Eric Stillwell] urged me to contact Pocket Books and now I'm writing this book about Garak."

Robinson says he's been pleased to find that exploring Garak on paper offers some of the same rewards he's tapped exploring Garak for the screen. "I am really able to use who I am to bring this character to life. On one hand, I have to try and think of a totally alien culture in order to write about Garak's family and friends, but I still have to use my own emotional experiences or else what the hell am I going to write about?"

Avery Brooks Narrates New DVDChristian (1:40 pm CST)A company press release from SlingShot Entertainment mentions that they'll soon be bringing out the IMAX-film 'The Greatest Places' on DVD. The film was produced by the Science Museum of Minnesota and takes you on a journey to seven of the most geographically dynamic locations on Earth, including the Amazon, Greenland, Iguazu Falls, Namib Desert, Okavango, Tibet and Madagascar. Interestingly, Avery Brooks (Benjamin Sisko) narrated the DVD, which should make it interesting for Trek fans as well. Find more in the full press release.

Today on TVChristian (1:40 pm CST)-Tomorrow at 16:00 BST, British television station Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Rivals,' followed an hour later by Voyager's 'Prototype.'

- Tomorrow morning at 10:45 CET, the German Sat.1 will be repeating Voyager's 'Tag der Ehre' (Day of Honour)

Trek BBS TodayChristian (1:40 pm CST)An interesting development at the Trek BBS is that threads seem to get longer and longer - which is good, as that also means the discussions are getting more in-depth! Check out three of the current discussions:

-In our Web Design forum, we discuss the use of CGI in Star Trek sites.

Hello World!Christian (1:39 pm CST)This afternoon, I was checking my mail when suddenly I noticed it had become strangely silent. I started to wonder precisely what it was that had stopped making noise, when I realized it was my pc's fan! Of course, I nearly had a heart attack as I envisioned my computer melting down, so I quickly hit the top of the computer - that used to work with my old television as well, after all.

Well, it did. The fan started humming again, and I sank back in my chair... for about five seconds, when the thing stopped again. I hit it another time, and again the fan started working for another five seconds. Of course, I still had to start on updating TrekToday, and all my files were on this pc! So, I quickly got a disk, and started copying all the relevant files to that disk, all the time slamming my computer every five seconds. After about 20 slams, the thing stopped working altogether, but fortunately I had already copied all the files to disk.

I'm updating the site from another computer now, so all is well again. If I'm slow in answering mail today, though, you know the reason...

Friday May 14, 1999

E3 Day 1 ReportChristian (2:15 pm CST)
Yesterday, our reporter Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga had his first day at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the biggest gaming event of the year. Over the coming week, he'll be writing up detailed previews of most of the games on the show, but he has already uploaded the report of his first day:

Well, Day One of E3 has passed and I was able to survive the madness that is E3. Every other year, this (dare I use the word) "titanic" gaming convention, arguably the largest of its kind, is held in Los Angeles at the LA Convention Center.

He then goes on to talk about his experiences during the day, and even includes a mini-preview of the upcoming 'Deep Space Nine: The Fallen' game:

From what I saw of the game, I was rather impressed by the graphics and the sound. They certainly did capture the flavor of the show's gritty nature rather accurately, from the various corridors on the station, to an ore processing plant, to a Bajoran pagh wraith temple.

In the single player game, while you will only be able to play as Sisko, Kira, or Worf, you will still be able to interact with many of the other characters on the series. And that doesn't just mean the main cast, which includes Odo, Jadzia Dax (not Ezri, since this game takes place in the sixth season), O'Brien, Quark, and Bashir, but also many of the supporting cast, such as Garak, Admiral Ross, Kai Winn, Weyoun, and Dukat.

The full report contains lots more on this, including the news that there will be a special bonus level featuring Garak and Dukat! Find the full report here, and remember to check back often at our main E3 site for the latest reports. We've also included a handy sub-menu right here at TrekToday, so you'll always be able to see when we've added new stuff!

Activision Game PreviewsChristian (2:02 pm CST)As part of our exclusive E3 Coverage, we've put up a pre-show preview of all the games currently in development by Activision. In the preview, we look at the real-time strategy game 'Armada,' the first-person shooter 'Voyager: Elite Force' and the adventure game 'Insurrection.' Take a look at how our Armada preview begins:

'Star Trek: Armada' is the first real-time strategy game set in the 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' universe. After the failed 'First Contact' game from Microprose, it's also the first game to heavily feature the Borg. In the game, a starship from the future has materialized to warn of the latest Borg threat. You are in charge of the fleets of the Federation, Klingon, Romulan and Borg ships that will wage this epic battle. Build starships, construct space stations, and research special weapons to lead your side to victory. Along the journey you will survive a Klingon civil war, Romulan subterfuge and the Borg's search for perfection.

The full preview also contains info on the two other Activision games, and it provides you with the first-ever screenshots of the three games. Go check it out!

Yes, it's true. I've signed on for a two-year tour of duty aboard the starship Voyager and as you read this, I'm sitting down to write my first script for Janeway and the gang. I'll be happy to talk about Voyager and to answer your questions, before I get into all that, let me say a few words about the end of one of my favorite television shows, Deep Space Nine.

[...]

I loved Deep Space Nine. I loved the people I worked with and I loved the world that we all created. It was a special show and a unique experience for me as a writer and as a person. I look back on it with a sense of pride at what we accomplished and with regret that all good things must come to an end.

I hope that you, the viewers, have enjoyed watching the episodes half as much as we enjoyed bringing them to you. Thank you for your long support and patronage of our show -- without you there would've been no DS9.

Hi folks, I've been very busy the last couple of weeks, assignments etc due in, exams 3 weeks off, moving house, buying a car...the list goes on! Ok, this issue we have more in depth info on the DS9 finale arc and the closing of voyager, as well as a new affiliate site Star Trek Australia. It's all in there, so, I suggest we get reading!

If you didn't yet receive the new issue in your mailbox, you can read it online by going here. Information on how to subscribe can be found here.

For those still counting, this is the ninth Star Trek movie. It's also the ninth time Hollywood has failed to even come close to producing a film that's as satisfying as some of the episodes of the TV series.Maybe the movies' creators feel they have to justify the bigger budget, or try to attract non-Star Trek fans with a simplistic story. Whatever the reason, Insurrection is just another lacklustre instalment of the big-screen Trek formula: bigger explosions, better special effects and flimsier scripts.

The full review awards the episode with just 2 stars. Thanks go out to Michael Hodges for the link.

Autobiographical Whitney Movie?Christian (1:25 pm CST)A news report at Express News talks about a Star Trek convention which will take place in San Antonio this weekend, and which will be attended by René Auberjonois (Odo), Robert Picardo (The Doctor) and Grace Lee Whitney (Yeoman Janice Rand). Included in the report is the news that a movie version of her autobiography may soon be appearing:

Paramount has, according to Whitney, given her their permission to have her autobiography made into a "movie of the week". "I'm trying to get Leonard Nimoy to direct it," she said. "I would love Heather Locklear to play me."

You can find the full news report here, while Whitney's autobiography can apparently be bought online at the new site http://yeomanrand.com/.

Trekkies, the feature film about "Star Trek" fans, will be released in North America on May 21 on approximately 330 screens.
Paramount will expand the release to other markets if the fans support the film. HELP SPREAD THE WORD!!

QUOTABLE OF THE WEEK: The Doctor, upon learning that temporal anomalies were making the crew (and viewers) sick: "I was beginning to suspect some kind of anomaly." Ha! On that ship, anomalies should always be the prime suspect. On a related note, I had to smile when Doc noticed that the clocks in the mess hall and sickbay showed different times. Normal people would assume that the clocks were simply set differently; Voyager people, naturally, assume a temporal anomaly is to blame.

Target 5" Exclusives Wave IIChristian (1:24 pm CST)The Raving Toy Maniac is reporting that the 'Data in Movie Uniform' and 'Seven of Nine' Target Exclusives have begun arriving in stores. As you may recall, there will be 5 Seven of Nine figures for each 3 Datas, so Seven of Nine fans should be able to find enough figures. More news can be found by visiting the Raving Toy Maniac's news page - it also includes news of a special contest sponsored by Viacom which I unfortunately forgot to report on a few days ago.

Starburst Previews DS9 FinaleChristian (1:22 pm CST)
The latest issue of Starburst Magazine (issue 250!) contains a rather huge feature on the DS9 finale, 'What You Leave Behind.' The people at Starburst have been so kind as to include a small preview of their feature, which has DS9 executive producer Ira Steven Behr talking about the finale:

"I think that the idea is to finish the story that we started in the pilot (Emissary). That's the overall thought behind the final two-hour episode," explains Behr, who has been with DSN since its inception, first as a writer, then as a writer-producer, and finally as its executive producer and day-to-day guiding force. Sisko's [Avery Brooks] arc is the story of a man who came to an assignment, on a space station, that he was not too happy with, who then got slowly sucked into not only the life of the station, but the life of Bajor. He became the Emissary of the Prophets and basically discovered that this assignment he did not want was the most important assignment in the Alpha Quadrant.

"What You Leave Behind finishes up that story. What I wanted to do, what I thought would be nice, was to have a final episode that, if the only two episodes of DSN you watched were the pilot and the final two-hour episode – even though there would be things that obviously would not make sense in the specific – it would make sense overall. Overall, you would get it. You'd get that there was a beginning and now there is an end. So, What You Leave Behind is the end.".

Find a bit more in the full preview, though the full feature can only be read by buying the actual magazine. Thanks go out to Warp Eleven for pointing me to this.

Playing on the time-tested (if by now a bit shopworn) formula that has proved so successful since Gene Roddenberry first created the TV series, "Star Trek: Insurrection" follows the crew of the Starship Enterprise to a remote planet inhabited by a race of well-groomed humanoids living in a climate not unlike Northern California. There, Captain Kirk -- I mean Picard (Patrick Stewart) -- gets to cuddle with a leggy alien in pink lip gloss while wrestling with his conscience and the eternal question of whether to violate the "prime directive" of non-interference. It's a safe but satisfying sci-fi security blanket that die-hard trekkies will undoubtedly love. Contains oblique references to hanky- panky and breasts.

"11:59" performed extremely poorly for Voyager last week, dropping to a fairly pathetic 3.2 rating, ranking 92nd. That's even down from "Someone to Watch Over Me"'s disappointing 3.4 mark last week. This showing was also down quite a bit from last year's "Demon" which tallied a 3.8.
Voyager was firmly stuck in 6th place for its timeslot, lagging far behind the #5 show, "Charmed," which earned a 3.9. With the WWF special out of the lineup, Voyager easily reclaimed the #1 UPN spot.

Wednesday's 'Relativity' seems to have done a lot better, at least according to the overnight ratings:

"Relativity" scored a quite good overnight rating for this second sweek of sweeps, bringing in a 6.1 rating, 9 share. That's one of the higher overnight ratings of the season and is up half a point and one share from last week's "11:59" (5.6/8).
Voyager also climbed out of its usual 6th place hole for the week, beating the WB's "Charmed," which turned out a 5.6/8 in a first-run episode. The next up was Fox's "Party of Five" which snagged a 7.9/12 in fourth.

I've been way off the last two weeks in predicting the final standing of "Someone to Watch Over Me" and "11:59" but "Relativity" should definately turn out a very good national number. As for what "Relativity" had going for it that the other two shows didn't, I'm not entirely sure. It's most likely due to the fact that this was the first show of the most recent three to have a strong action element. The show actually has a very good shot at breaking "One"'s mark from a year ago at a 3.9.

Lastly, the site has the ratings report for the third DS9 Final Chapter episode, which didn't do as well as it could have done:

"Strange Bedfellows" rose a bit entering sweeps earning a 4.2 rating, ranking 14th. That's up 3% from last week and, quite unbelievably, flat from last year's "The Reckoning." This is the first time all year that a season 7 episode has equaled a season 6 episode.
In competition, Xena and Hercules are dying fast. DS9 was first among the syndicated weeklies with a 4.2, Herc followed with a 3.5 and Xena was in third with a 3.3. Xena is now nearing lowest ever ratings and poses no threat to DS9. It's all but certain that DS9 will end its run where it started -- as the number one first-run syndicated weekly.

Besides this, there are even a few other positive sides to these ratings, as you can read in the full Strange Bedfellows report. Some more info can also be found in the full 11:59 report and the full Relativity report.

'Hercules' Leaves For Roddenberry SeriesChristian (1:21 pm CST)After rumours had been going on for the past few months, Hercules star Kevin Sorbo has officially announced he will be leaving 'Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.' However, in a rather more surprising move his next project will be a new series developed by the late Gene Roddenberry, and produced by Majel Barrett Roddenberry and the Tribune Entertainment Company:

Tribune Entertainment Company, Majel Barrett Roddenberry and international television star Kevin Sorbo (``Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'') have announced an agreement to develop the science- fiction/action hour television programs ``Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda'' and ``Gene Roddenberry's Starship'' (both working titles) based upon works from the late ``Star Trek'' creator's archives. The projects, one of which will ultimately star Mr. Sorbo, are being developed for Fall 2000 and further expand Tribune Entertainment's ongoing initiative to increase its growing portfolio of programming and its leading role in building upon the world renowned Gene Roddenberry brand. Mr. Sorbo, Dick Askin, president and chief executive officer of Tribune Entertainment, and Ms. Roddenberry jointly made the announcement today.

Both 'Andromeda' and 'Starship' will be based on scripts found in the Gene Roddenberry archives, and both will be science-fiction series:

``Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda,'' set millenniums ago, follows the time travels of Alexander Grange, a doctoral student living on the planet Korkyra. As he studies his five scientific disciplines, an apocalyptic war devastates Korkyra and propels Alexander 500 years into the future to a world where warring city-states are bereft of the high-technology he studied with on his home planet. Thrust into a world with no friends or family, Alexander's mission in life suddenly becomes to uncover the whereabouts of his loved ones, and bring peace and civilization back to his world.

A futuristic action hour in which a peaceful Earth is run by an organization of artists, scientists and teachers working to bring harmony throughout the universe, ``Gene Roddenberry's Starship'' chronicles the exploration space vessel Starship that serves as home to a team of Galactic trouble-shooters led by Captain Dylan Hunt. After leaving Earth to study the far reaches of the universe, where a long and brutal territorial war between aliens takes place, Hunt and his crew discover worlds that are vastly different from the humanistic and civilized society they left behind.

It isn't certain yet in which of the two series Sorbo will star, but, whichever one it is, he will also be co-producing the series. More on the actual series can be found in this press release, while another looking at the effects on 'Hercules: The Legendary Journeys' can be found here.

Today on TVChristian (1:20 pm CST)-Tomorrow at 16:00 BST, British television station Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Sanctuary,' followed an hour later by Voyager's 'Resistance.' Thanks go out to the Television Observation Unit of the Star Trek Collective for this.

Hello World!Christian (1:19 pm CST)We had a great response to the opening of our E3 site yesterday - thanks to all of you who wrote in to compliment on the site! Today the first reports directly from E3 itself were actually put up - don't forget to read Jeff's report of the first E3 day, as it contains some all-new info on the upcoming Deep Space Nine adventure game. We'll be adding more exclusive reports to the E3 site over the coming week - don't forget to check back often.

David Henderson at Psi Phi has put up the full press release for Voyager's Warhead, which includes a synopsis of the episode:

After the U.S.S. Voyager receives a distress signal from an alien missile, Ensign Kim, Torres and The Doctor determine that it's a complex, damaged weapon with artificial intelligence and sentient consciousness. But when they beam this mysterious device aboard, it interlinks with The Doctor's program and through him, insists the U.S.S. Voyager enable it to fulfill its mission of mass destruction.

All in all, nicely done. The arc finally has the finish line in sight--the death of Gowron and ascension of Martok makes for some dramatic storytelling, and gives the final chapter a sense of the beginning of the end. Granted, this angle is a "bit" forced, appearing out of nowhere last week, and suddenly wrapping up this week, and is a bit predictable (camera shot through giant glass map of ship movement just screams "break me!") But I found myself enjoying it, despite my general dislike of Klingon episodes.

But I can easily put my finger on WHY I liked it. Ezri's speech. In a simple, yet direct bit of counselling, Ezri spells out her view how the Klingon empire is weak and dieing: can Worf name a Chancellor that he is able to call honorable? Can the Klingons really be fighting a war where the alpha quadrant itself is at sake, and Gowron is more concerned about the potential poltical rival in Martok? It's over the top, yes, but so out-of-the blue, so direct, and so bloody accurate that it really helped capture this particular klingon story. And when we think back, what have been the compelling klingon stories: the klingon civil war (the house of duras conspiring with romulans), worf losing and regaining his honor, a changeling Gowron (why replace the original when its bad enough!), more of the Sisters of Duras ST: Generations). It may be a bit pedantic in the execution--but it makes for a compelling and exciting drama in the midst of the war at large. I for one, am happy to see Martok (a great character from the beginning) finally in command...

Ultimate PC Reviews BotFChristian (2:03 pm CST)Paul Weaver, former webmaster of FedCom, just sent me the news that the Ultimate PC magazine printed a review of Microprose's 'Birth of the Federation, which they awarded no less than 91%:

This is a superb title from Microprose, and as one of the final titles from them before Activision's exclusive licensing deal comes into effect, 'Birth of the Federation' surely rates as one of the best Star Trek games ever.

The game was selected as an 'Editor's Choice,' which certainly is good news for the game. The magazine also contains a preview of Interplay's 'Starfleet Command,' in case you're interested. Thanks go out to Paul Weaver for reporting this.

The final shot of Kira holding a ravaged Odo was heartbreaking; I'm anticipating needing hankies the next few weeks, even though I'd bet money that Odo will be cured by Bashir and will in turn cure his people despite their misdeeds. Next week's a make-or-break episode for Deep Space Nine; Sisko actually said the word "genocide" in the preview, and I want to know how these nice Starfleet officers are going to react when they learn that a group of their own has committed an atrocity greater than anything the Cardassians did to the Bajorans, greater than anything the Dominion did to any of its members. It's hideous - we've seen that in the tatters of Odo's body - and it's appalling on a level so deep that nothing Winn and Dukat might do, nothing the Breen might do, nothing the Jem'Hadar might do can possibly compete. I hope it's handled superbly.

Jeri Ryan Talk Show PicsChristian (2:03 pm CST)
The Official Jeri Lynn Ryan Homepage has put up 14 screencaps of yesterday' appearance by Jeri Ryan (Voyager, Seven of Nine) on the Howie Mandel Show, the soon-to-be cancelled Paramount talk show. As usual, they mostly show Jeri Ryan smiling at the camera, but there are also some shots from Voyager included. You can find the full set of images here.

William Shatner Book SigningsChristian (2:01 pm CST)The Continuum has put up a list of upcoming book signings by William Shatner (James T. Kirk), which will all take place in May. The book signings have been organized to promote his new fan book 'Get A Life!,' which he wrote together with Chris Kreski. Find the locations and dates of the three book signings here.

Leonard Nimoy Chat TodayChristian (2:01 pm CST)Today, the Continuum will be hosting a live chat with Leonard Nimoy (Spock). The chat begins at 06:30pm Pacific Time, though advance questions can already be submitted here. If you want to know how you can participate you can find info on that here.

I enjoyed this story, just as I enjoyed it the first time I encountered it, in Vonda McIntyre's The Entropy Effect - the very first Star Trek novel from Pocket Books and one of the finest. In that book Spock chased a madman from the future whose double in the past had created a device similar to Captain Braxton's, causing similar chaos among past and present crews. Having read that novel, it was entirely too easy to predict all the twists and turns of this inferior copy, like Braxton himself becoming the psychotic saboteur. Still, it was fun to see Janeway wear the bun of steel again...and if it was less-than-fun to see Seven hailed again as the only person capable of setting the universe right, I guess that's the way it goes on this series.

Other than the blatant theft of a previously better-told story - hardly a new problem on Voyager, which gets most of its watchable episodes by recycling the previous Treks - my main criticisms of "Relativity" have to do with that pesky continuity issue. On the one hand, it was really nice to see Joe Carey for the first time in four years. On the other hand, the only thing we ever learned about Joe Carey (other than that Torres broke his nose in "Parallax") was that he had a wife and two sons he wanted to get home to, so badly that in "Prime Factors" he helped steal the Sikarian trajector to make an attempt. Here, he spends most of his screen time hitting on Seven of Nine. What's the point in resurrecting a character from the past if the writers are going to turn him into a different person?

Michael Iversen at the Universe has received one page of the script for 'Warhead,' next week's new Voyager episode. It's page 23, and deals with the first time B'Elanna Torres and Harry Kim realize the Doctor has been taken over by the artificial intelligence inside the Warhead. You can read precisely what happens then on the actual script page.

Furthermore, the Universe has received a little note about the 'Equinox' reshoots:

The new scenes involve (mostly) one of the characters from the ship "Equinox". Her name is Gilmore, and she meets Naomi, and helps Chakotay decrypt some files and such.

'Strange Bedfellows' RatingsChristian (1:57 pm CST)It appears that even DS9's Final Chapter isn't bringing in much higher ratings, according to a report written by Cynthia Littleton for Variety. The report deals with the syndicated ratings for the week which ended the 2nd of May, which was the week when 'Strange Bedfellows' aired. Take a look at how DS9 performed:

``Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' upticked 2% from the previous week to a 4.2 in households, but its demo score fell 6% to a 2.9.

In a bit of 'good' news, the competition (Xena and Hercules) did even worse than DS9, as you can read in the full report.

The overnight ratings is in, and Voyager did a lot better than last week. Voyager got a 6.1/9, thats up 0.5 from last week. Voyager was 5th for the hour, beating WB;s Charmed that got a 5.6/8.

A final rating would be around 3.6 - 4.1. Note that UPN can only be seen in 70% of USA, so if the rating is low, then there is a good reason for it. Just think about it, Someone To Watch Over Me got a 3.4 - now if that was 97% like DS9, then its rating would have been 4.7.
7 Days got a 3.8/6, thats down 0.2 from last weeks episode. Because of 7 Days "low" rating, then UPN was 6th for the night. (It's a normal rating for 7 days)

Takei Speaks At Money MeetingChristian (1:57 pm CST)A press release from State Farm Insurance Companies mentions that George Takei will be a special guest speaker at a reception which will be held tonight dealing with a new money management programs aimed at Asian-Americans. At the event, a new magazine (the ``A. Magazine's Guide to Asian American Money Power'') will be launched, which will help Asian-Americans with their fincancial planning. Check out the full press release for more.

Wil Wheaton On Star Wars 'TV'Christian (1:56 pm CST)A press release distributed via Entertainment Wire is reporting that Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher) will be making an appearance on CountdownTV, an Internet TV channel created by the Star Wars fans camping out in front of Hollywood's Mann's Chinese Theater:

Wheaton, who played Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation, will appear on the In Line with Kiki show at 5 p.m.-7 p.m. PST on www.CountdownTV.com to discuss the upcoming Star Wars film and the characteristics of the different Star Wars and Star Trek genres.

Hello World!Christian (1:51 pm CST)Wow, I'm late! But fortunately I have a good reason to be, as I spent all day creating our E3 Coverage Site. Over there, we'll be providing you with reports of what's happening at the biggest gaming expo of the year, previews of the latest Star Trek games, and interviews with game developers. Already now we have a few mini-previews up, which were written by yours truly and even include a few all-new screenshots.

Starting sometime this evening (US Time), the absolutely wonderful Jeff Koga will start uploading his reports, as he is actually the person who is currently walking around at E3. Major thanks go out to Jeff for agreeing to report about the conference for us - there are few things I have ever appreciated more!

Special thanks should also go out to Leonard Schuurmans, webmaster of Warp Eleven, who created the fabulous logo and most of the lay-out of our E3 site.

[Update 21:55 CET:] Ho hum. It appears people using Netscape will miss the first few lines of the text at the E3 site. The incredible Leonard Schuurmans is currently working on a fix, which should be done in an hour or so.

Wednesday May 12, 1999

Star Trek E3 PreviewChristian (3:15 pm CST)E3.net has posted a small preview of Activision's upcoming Star Trek games, which will be shown at this week's Electronic Entertainment Expo. Take a look at how the preview begins:

With all the Star Wars hype permeating the media like a rabid computer virus, it's easy to forget that long before Luke, Leia and the gang took on the Empire, there was another group of space cadets who made the future safe for high action and low melodrama.
The crews of the Enterprise and its successors have been teaching alien cultures about freedom, liberty and yes, the fine art of kissing, for three decades. With four prime-time TV series and nine feature films to its credit, the Star Trek franchise is perhaps the only one with the legs to take on Lucas and his two-ton marketing juggernaut.

As with any TV/film franchise, games based on the Star Trek universe have always been a dicey proposition. For every Star Wars-based flop like Masters of Teras Kasi or Rebellion, there's been a corresponding Klingon Honor Guard or the promising vaporware of The Secret of Vulcan Fury.
Now, new Star Trek licensee Activision has three new titles on the way, spanning the Star Trek universe, from The Next Generation to Voyager.

The full preview also contains a few new screenshots, but the text looks suspiciously like the Adrenaline Vault preview. Expect lots more E3 news to come in the next three days - certainly TrekToday will be very closely following the event. Thanks go out to Star Trek Gaming Central for pointing me to this.

DS9 Cast PhotosChristian (2:44 pm CST)
In a rather great move, the Continuum has put up the DS9 cast photos for the last seven seasons. They're especially nice if you put them next to each other and see how the cast has evolved over the past seven years - it's the most obvious with Cirroc Lofton, of couse, but most of the other cast members have also changed quite a bit. You can find all the cast photos by going here, but remember that (just like the one I printed here), they're all copyrighted by Paramount.

Jerry Goldsmith To Receive AwardChristian (2:24 pm CST)Variety is reporting that Jerry Goldsmith, who scored 4 Star Trek movies and created the themes for TNG and Voyager, will soon be honoured with an 'Outstanding Achievement' award:

Jerry Goldsmith, composer of more than 175 movie scores including ``Star Trek: The Motion Picture'' and the Oscar-winning ``The Omen,'' will be honored Aug. 9 during the Hollywood Film Festival's awards ceremony at the Beverly Hilton.
Goldsmith is to receive the Outstanding Achievement in Music prize from the fest, which will run Aug. 4-9 in its third outing.

I picked up my copy of the Star Trek: Insurrection DVD today--I haven't seen the whole thing yet, but so far), it looks and sounds great. The box is a keep-case, and features a new description of the film, along with headshots of the crew and a picture of the Ba'ku planet. If you haven't seen the film yet, there are spoilers ahead. There are no cut scenes on the disc--looks like we're going to have to wait for the rumored Trek special edition DVDs for the really good stuff. And those discs, should they come to be, are (at least) a couple of years off.

The Museum will premiere the two-hour finale of this science fiction series, which attracted scores of devotees in the post-Star Trek era. Since its debut in 1993, this offspring of Star Trek: The Next Generation--set in a space station in the twenty-fourth century--has combined thought-provoking themes with a galaxy of multifaceted crew members and interplanetary beings.
Tickets are $5 (free for Museum members) and may be purchased in the Museum lobby, or by calling the Museum at 310/786-1091, Wednesday through Sunday between 12:00 - 5:00 p.m.
The screening on May 27th is sold out.

You can find the original article here. Thanks go out to Michael Iversen at the Universe for sending this to me.

Here's a question for you: Does the title of "Star Trek: Insurrection" refer to the plot, or the way longtime fans will react after sitting through this mediocre sequel?
A little of both, I'm afraid, for if ever a big-screen franchise could have done without another regurgitation of a tried and true formula, this is it. Tried and true? Try shopworn and shallow.

[...]

The trouble with Insurrection isn't a lack of special effects; if anything, the digital effects crew does a commendable job. Things snap, crackle and energize here at a frantic pace.
The fact is, Star Trek has never been just about special effects; it's a series built on high-falutin' moral imperatives, especially the prime directive to respect all life forms. That directive gets trotted out, then tossed away once the shooting starts. The result is a space opera whose thesis appears to be "my phaser is bigger than your phaser." Factor in erratic pacing and an uninspired plot, and "Star Trek: Insurrection" proves less than the sum of its parts. What happened to the days when the series was content to boldly go where no man had gone before?

The final rating for 11:59 is in, and it doesn't look good. Voyager got a 3.2 and was nr. 92. That is down 0.2 from "Someone To Watch Over Me". Voyager was 6th for the hour, behind Charmed that got a 3.9!

Other UPN rating are 7 Days with a 2.5, UPN Thursday Night Movie: Primal Force with a 2.4, Moesha with a 2.2 and Dilbert with a 2.0.

[Update 21:27 CET:] You might also want to check out this report at Yahoo, which mentions that '11:59' was still the top-rated UPN show at No.92.

'Warhead' TrailerChristian (1:27 pm CST)Star Trek Interactive! has put up the trailers for 'Warhead,' next week's new Voyager episode. As is becoming more and more usual these days, Vidiot is down yet again, so Star Trek Interactive is currently the only place for you to find the trailers. As usual, they're available as MPEG and as ASF video clips, but also as MP3 audio files or still images. You can find the trailers by going here.

Adventures In Time And SpaceChristian (1:25 pm CST)At the Star Trek Book Board, Pocket Books' senior editor John Ordover just made a post about the upcoming 'Adventures In Time And Space' book. The book will be a 'clip show' book featuring the best moments from Pocket's 20 years of publishing Star Trek novels, and this is how it's going to be structured:

No framing story - we could have come with one, but it would have seemed
very, very hokey. Instead, what Mary did was pick out the best moments (In
her humble opinion, and I'm -sure- there will be loud wails and arguments,
as there would have been no matter what she'd picked) from our 20 years of
Trek publishing. The excerpts are arranged into sections and categories and
such, and Mary's written an introduction and intros to each of the excerpts.

The book also includes the long-awaited Star Trek Novel Chronology that
places the books into Trek continuity as well as can be, and I expect
arguments there, too.:)

I have to wonder if that book will really be interesting to read - on television, clip shows aren't usually the best ones imaginable. You can find Ordover's original post here.

Jeri Ryan On Howie Mandel ShowChristian (1:25 pm CST)
Today Jeri Ryan will be making an appearance on the syndicated Paramount talk show 'The Howie Mandel Show.' This edition of the show, which was apparently already taped several weeks ago, will also be one of the last editions, as Paramount recently decided to cancel the show. As an extra interesting bit of info, take a look at what a Paramount source told me when I mentioned at TrekToday a few days ago that the show 'would be' cancelled:

Ahh you're wrong about Howie Mandel.. he's BEEN CANCELLED. past tense. People
were noting "RIP" on his show signs weeks ago where the show was shot. Yes, the
humor can be cruel in the industry.

Ah bit of trivia: Paramount geared up to have the Mandel production done on their lot - for some unknown reason it ended up at the NBC Burbank Plant on Alameda. The show is shoot on the stage next to Leno's. They had one heck of a Christmas party though! :-)

Even though it's going to end soon, this show should still prove to be rather interesting - check your local listings for the precise time the show will air.

TNG RPG Time Travel SourcebookChristian (1:24 pm CST)Mania Magazine just put up the latest edition of Out of the Box, the weekly RPG column by Kenneth Hite. Hite is one of the people who created the 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' role-playing game, and in this new edition of the column he mentions he is currently working on 'All Our Yesterdays,' a new source book for the Star Trek RPG which will deal exclusively with time travel.

The Insider has managed to get his mitts on some shots from the upcoming final episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine titled "What You Leave Behind." As one might expect, Paramount is trying to be as careful as possible to not show anything particular shocking or revelatory in these shots.

Three more screenshots (plus larger-sized versions) can be found at Cinescape.

Robert Picardo On 'Ally McBeal'Christian (1:21 pm CST)CARPE, the Central Alliance of Robert Picardo Enthusiasts, is reporting that the actor best known for his role as the Doctor on Voyager will soon be guest starring on 'Ally McBeal:'

This coming Monday (May 17) Robert Picardo will be
guest-starring on Fox's hit comedy "Ally McBeal" as a man who sues his
wife for fraud when he discovers that she doesn't really love him. "Ally
McBeal" airs at 9:00 PM Eastern or Pacific time, 8:00 PM Central time...
check your local listings for the exact time.

Thanks go out CARPE's president Cristy Ruteshouser for sending out this news.

According to the BBC, Meaney will take a role in an off-Broadway production of John Irving's The Cidar House Rules. Meaney says, "It wasn't that I was missing the theatre but as the series was winding up I felt it was time to come back. And it was just about then that this play came along,"

Find the original report at Cinescape. Thanks go out to Gustavo Leao for pointing me to this.

Today on TVChristian (1:19 pm CST)-Tonight at 9:00pm, UPN will be showing the new Voyager episode 'Relativity.' Take a look at how the official press release described the episode, courtesy of Psi Phi:

In an episode that revisits Janeway's first day aboard the U.S.S. Voyager and then fast forwards 500 years beyond it when her ship is destroyed, Captain Braxton of the 29th century Federation Timeship Relativity contacts Seven of Nine to go back in time to solve the mystery of who planted the "temporal disrupter" which ultimately destroyed the U.S.S. Voyager. But when the new starship captain, Janeway, catches the mysterious Seven aboard the brand new U.S.S. Voyager, she detains her, an interference that could contaminate the time-line.

-At 7:00pm and at 11:00pm Eastern Time, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the first-season TOS episode 'What Are Little Girls Made Of?'

-Tomorrow in the UK, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Necessary Evil' at 17:00 and at 23:30 BST. Tomorrow at 18:00 BST, BBC Two will be showing DS9's 'If Wishes Were Horses.'

-In Germany, Sat.1 will be repeating TNG's 'Das Interface' (Interface) tomorrow morning at 7:10 CET in the morning. That's also the only Star Trek episode which will be shown in Germany tomorrow, this because of Ascension Day.

New at TrekSeek.comChristian (1:18 pm CST)Because of my internet problems today, I haven't actually been able to visit the two below new sites, but I'm sure they're both really interesting:

-The LCARS Command Net has the latest news, rumors, crew biographies, actor birthdays/places, real names, regular actor specials, reviews, polls...
-StarBase 76 is a fan site for Birth of the Federation, including ships, screenshots, info, and more! Will be updated with more soon.

Hello World!Christian (1:18 pm CST)The internet is really acting up for me today. For some strange reason I'm unable to connect to several big sites - including Yahoo and the Continuum. Unfortunately, that also means I won't be able to report on the news I usually get from those sources - I'll try to make up for that as soon as I'm able to reach those sites again.

[Update 21:24 CET:] Yeehaa! It's working again!

Tuesday May 11, 1999

No Canada CutsChristian (2:01 pm CST)Thanks to Karen Bennett and Karen Trenholm (Karen must be a very common name in Canada ;-), I found out something rather interesting about the Voyager cuts issue. Take a look at what they had to say:

Karen Bennett: I'm in Toronto, and we get Voyager on two non-UPN stations, and I haven't
noticed any cuts. But if I watch UPN, the trailer and the credits are cut.

Karen Trenholm: We in Canada are getting the full versions of the Voyager eps.

What this also means is that new Voyager episodes are still being produced with two minutes of extra footage, which are then cut out by UPN! Surely this isn't really cost-effective for Paramount? In any case, this also means that when new Voyager episodes make their way to other countries or to video, everyone will actually still be able to see the scenes that were cut for American release, so I guess this is good news for Voyager fans. Thanks go out to both Karens for this info.

It seems that the global literati includes at least one Star Trek fan who's not ashamed to admit it. Salman Rushdie, author of Midnight's Children and The Satanic Verses, has cited the Trek franchise at least twice in his work.

His short story Chekhov and Zulu, published in the anthology East, West, depicts two Indian diplomats and their involvement in espionage in England. From their days as schoolboys, the characters are nicknamed after Mr. Chekhov and Mr. Sulu, and the story is filled with the jargon of the original series, presented in a way that's playful, not condescending. As is typical in Rushdie's work, not only do cultures merge and overlap, but so do pop cultures: the Star Trek references occur alongside mentions of The Lord of the Rings.

Rushdie's love for Trek is also apparent in his latest novel, 'The Ground Beneath Her Feet,' in which the Next Generation is mentioned. To find out about that (and read the actual quote from the novel), you'll have to read the full article at Warp Eleven, though.

Remember that this 'news' is either made up or exaggerated, and is only put on that teletext page to make people call expensive phone numbers. The teletext page is provided here only for its amusement value. As in 'Haha.'

DS9 Finale Press ReleaseChristian (1:29 pm CST)NOTE: Spoilers for DS9's 'What You Leave Behind' can be found in this update. Here is where you need to click to avoid reading those spoilers.

It appears Vidiot is trying to kill me, as he just put up the press release for 'What You Leave Behind,' the DS9 finale. Take a look at the official synopsis:

On the eve of battle, Bashir aaaand Exri spend the night together. Later, with Sisko in command, the Defiant joins the Federation-Klingon-Romulan fleet as the invasion of Cardassia is launched. On Cardassia Prime, Kira, Damar and Garak discuss Resistance plans to sabotage the Dominion's power and communication centers. On Bajor, Kai Winn asks Dukat to join her when she releases the Pah-wraiths from the Fire Caves, and Dukat vows to destroy Sisko.

The Collective announced today Myscha the Sled Dog, known for his
award-winning work on the best-selling game "Unreal," is now joining The
Collective - developer of Star Trek Deep Space Nine: The Fallen. He joins
as Level Design Director at the Collective and will begin working to further
enhance the level designs on their internal projects, including The Fallen.

"Myscha shares the same passion we have for crafting exceptional content,"
said Richard Hare, Vice President and Creative Director of The Collective.
"Upon seeing the quality of our staff's work, and the direction we are
taking our titles, he realized he wanted to become part of our group and
lend his considerable talents to our games."

Myscha commented, "I am extremely excited about my new position as Level
Design Director at The Collective. With Unreal technology forming the
foundation for 'Star Trek: DS9 - The Fallen,' my goal is to return to my
passion for innovative single player game design combined with cutting edge
third and first person action, unique gameplay, and breathtaking
architecture. The talent at The Collective is first rate and, under the
direction and leadership of the company execs, you can expect some truly
awesome games coming from us in the near future."

This could well help elevate the Collective to a much higher status - Myscha (whose actual name is T. Elliot Cannon) is generally regarded as one of the best level designers around, and 'The Fallen' should definitely benefit from his experience.

'Emissary' AuctionChristian (1:16 pm CST)Emissary, the official fan club of Avery Brooks (Benjamin Sisko), has announced a rather large online charity auction, which will benefit the College Fund UNCF. Close to 90 items can be bid on, including autographed scripts, photos, trading cards, figures, and lots of other items. The bidding will start on the 1st of June, and end on the 30th of June - if you want to participate, you can find the full list of items and info on how to bid here.

In other Avery Brooks news, the fan club is reporting on what he will be doing after the series is over:

Besides relaxing back at home in New Jersey, look for him to do more in the theater and with music. As soon as we get the news about what he's up to next, we'll post it here.

If you're really desperate to see more of Brooks, his series 'Spenser: For Hire' has started airing 'sporadically' on TNT - find the full listings here. Thanks go out to Emissary for reporting all this on their news page.

'The Dogs Of War' Press ReleaseChristian (1:11 pm CST)NOTE: Below you'll find a synopsis of 'The Dogs of War,' the 8th Final Chapter episode. Click here to avoid reading the inevitable spoilers that can be found in the synopsis.

Mr. Video Productions has posted the official press release for 'The Dogs Of War,' the 8th Final Chapter episode. Take a look at the official synopsis that's included with that episode:

While Sisko takes command of a new ship named in honor of the Defiant, Kira, Garak and Damar barely escape a Dominion ambush on Cardassia and are forced into hiding. Quark receives a static-filled messade from Grand Nagus Zek, the Ferengi leader, that he's been named Zek's successor. Now cured of the deadly Changeling virus, Odo is outraged to learn that he was infected by Section Thirty-one - an unsanctioned extremist organization within the Federation - but promises Sisko he won't take matters into his own hands.

Don't forget--Star Trek: Insurrection will be available in US stores tomorrow. At this point, you can only rent VHS copies of the film (unless you happen to have $88.39 lying around, that is)--the video won't be available at a reasonable price until November 16. However, the DVD version of the film, which will include trailer(s) and a "behind-the-scenes featurette," will be available for purchase tomorrow at a pretty reasonable $30.00 or less.

And, of course, it'll still be a few months before the video makes its way to the Netherlands. Sigh.

Mr. Video Productions has put up the official press release for DS9's 'Extreme Measures,' the 7th Final Chapter episode. As usual, this press release also contains a synopsis of the episode:

When Kira brings a terminally ill Odo back to the station for medical treatment, he orders her to leave him and return to help the Cardassian Resistance. Later, O'Brien and Bashir inform Sisko of their plan to lure a Section Thirty-one operative, who may hold the cure to Odo's disease, to the station. The scheme works when Sloan, the director of the unsanctioned Starfleet extremist organization that infected Odo - as part of a genocidal plot against his people - arrives. But when Bashir places a Romulan mind probe on the agent, who refuses to give information regarding a cure, Sloan attempts suicide in the science lab by activating a neuro-depolarizing device in his brain.

The full press release also contains a full list of guest stars, plus the TV Guide ads. Of course, as I write this Vidiot's server is down, so you might want to check out the Psi Phi version instead, even though it contains slightly less info. Alternatively, you might want to check out our own spoiler-packed report of the episode, which insider Faith was kind enough to send us yesterday.

Insurrection Overseas PerformanceChristian (1:06 pm CST)Even though 'Star Trek: Insurrection' has already ended its run in the US and most European countries, there are still a few countries where the movie started just a few days ago. One of those countries is Japan, where the movie premiered on Saturday, the 8th of May. The Flagship received a mail from Robert Grey, who lives in Japan and had the following to say about the release:

Attached is a JPG file of the poster design that you can see here in Japan. The horizontal line in white at the top roughly translates as "Every planet has it's first episode..." The vertical line in yellow on the left translates as "Their's was to become the enemy of the entire universe!" In red print, it mentions that this movie was a #1 hit in the U.S. (was it? A lot of American films here are advertised as being -- literally translated "All-American No.1 Big Hit!!"). Then, at the bottom, in white, then yellow, and then light gray, it says '20th Anniversary STAR TREK Insurrection.' [The "20th Anniversary" refers to the Trek movie series.] Then, of course, at the bottom, the cast and production credits are listed (in Japanese).

I saw the film today, this being the second time. The first time was in NYC back in December, when I was home for the holidays. This time, though, I was the only person in the entire place laughing at some of the jokes. I guess they don't translate very well. Then again, Japanese movie theatres tend to have an atmosphere like a funeral home -- nobody makes a sound throughout the whole thing.

More of Robert Grey's report and a larger version of the movie poster can be found at the Flagships' news page. Meanwhile, an overseas box office report written by Phillippe Cahill for Reuters/Variety mentions the following:

Nearing the end of its run, ``Star Trek: Insurrection'' had a moderate third place premiere in Japan, grossing $697,097. The picture also bowed rowdily in Sweden with $149,734, up 90% on ``Star Trek: First Contact.''

The full report can be found here, and also includes some info on 'American History X,' the movie which starred several Trek stars.

I think that's going to depend in large part on the viewer and what they bring to the film. Obviously your reaction to any movie is going to depend on you, but the best films manage to impart an universal truth about experience even while staying specific to the characters and milieu onscreen. That's only partially the case here, as much of the film's humor is specific to not just the world of fandom, but the world of LA industry insider fandom.

That's not to say the film doesn't have plenty of comic charm. Rafer Weigel and Eric McCormack (who plays Will on NBC's WILL & GRACE) have an easy,natural chemistry that goes a long way toward selling the picture as a whole. This film was co-written by Mark Altman and Robert Burnett, and it's no coincidence that the lead characters in the film are named Mark (McCormack) and Robert (Weigel). The actors work so well together that they convince us of their friendship, one of the key elements of the film. In addition, Weigel strikes some real sparks with his love interest Claire (Audie England, both sexy and approachable here), grounding another major element of the film.

The rest of the report also talks about William Shatner's appearance in the movie, and even tells us why we should all go and see the movie (something I was planning to do anyway). Go and check out the full report!

If I may segue into soapbox mode (as I often do), since when did the U.S.S. Voyager have an elite force? I'm assuming that this title refers to the security team, due to the nature of the game. Since Intrepid class ships are basically high-speed science vessels, where does the crack team of highly skilled elite commandos figure in? Of course, maybe it's a Maquis team. They should be good with guns, given their nature. In any event, I'll just chalk this one up to the Braga school of Star Trek lore. If it blows up, it makes good Trek.

Personally I still think that the game will be pretty good, considering it's being developed by Raven, who I respect a lot. We should know more after this week's E3, though. Thanks go out to YnrohKeeg for reporting this, and don't forget to check out his Starfleet Command Beta Report, now in its third day.

Trek BBS TodayChristian (1:03 pm CST)The Trek BBS is growing more popular each day - we now have more than 150 members! Take a look at three of the 39 discussions that took place over the past 24 hours:

-What is your Series Top-4? (Or top-6, if you count the Animated Series and New Frontier).

-In this thread we look at a small nit regarding Odo's infection with the Founder's disease - plus we star talking about nitpicking in general.

Find more in the actual Trek BBS, and feel free to add your own topics to the discussion!

New at TrekSeek.comChristian (1:03 pm CST)Just three sites were added to TrekSeek yesterday, still bringing us to a total of 1082 Star Trek sites. Take a look at two of those sites:

-USS Yorktown is a a Defiant class UFP starship which is, according to the USS Yorktown, the very best ship in the Gamma Fleet RPG.
-Star Trek 9: Insurrection calls itself a 'site' dedicated to the third TNG movie, but it really isn't even worthy of that title - absolutely nothing can be found there besides three pictures and a mini-synopsis. Avoid.

Hello World!Christian (1:02 pm CST)With the current seasons of DS9 and Voyager winding down, there obviously will also be less news to report at TrekToday. Of course, I'll still be reporting on the next Voyager season, and on upcoming Trek games, toys, chats, action figures and other such things, but there will inevitably less news than there is now.

However, there are a few people who could help me bring more content to TrekToday - YOU! What I'd love to get from you would be convention reports, reviews of Trek merchandise, articles with your thoughts on anything at all Trek-related, or whatever else you can think of. If you have any ideas for such articles, please send them to me and I'd absolutely love to put them up here at TrekToday!

Monday May 10, 1999

Last Three DS9 Episode SpoilersChristian (1:50 pm CST)NOTE: Below you'll find pretty huge spoilers for the last three DS9 episodes, 'Extreme Measures,' 'The Dogs of War' and 'What You Leave Behind.' In all probability, you'll want to avoid reading these spoilers - if so, click here.

Again, all-new spoilers for the last three episodes of DS9's Final Chapter can be found below. Click here to move on to the next update.

Faith, my wonderful source, just gave some extra info on the final three DS9 episodes. As there are a *lot* of spoilers to be found in his info bits, I put them on a special page, which can be found by going here. Take a look at some of the most interesting bits:

In 'Extreme Measures,' we find out that *Luther* Sloan has a wife named Jessica, though she'll be a widow after this episode.

In 'The Dogs of War,' a new Defiant-class ship arrives, although the dedication plaque says it's the USS Sao Paolo with NCC-75633.

In 'What You Leave Behind,' the Female Changeling signs a peace agreement and agrees to stand trial for her crimes.

You can find the full list of spoilers here, which also includes a set list and info on what most of the other characters will be doing after the series has ended, according to the series finale. As usual, I'd strongly advise you not to actually go there if you still want to enjoy the episodes - major spoilers can be found there. Thanks go out to the wonderful Faith for this!

Regular Cinescape contributor 'Michael Marek' returns with another of his no-holds-barred, SPOILER-packed looks at next week's upcoming episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The episode is titled "Tacking Into the Wind." With the series rapidly moving towards its grand finale, you may choose to wait and see them for yourself.

We've got a record
80-some NewsBits, plus four whole news articles. And what started as
a NewsBit, became a news article, then part of the Editor's PADD, and
finally into a separate news/opinion article: a detailed look at
dealing with the Star Trek stars online, based on an open letter by
Jonathan Frakes which addressed concerns over people posing as him
online. I made sure to differentiate between the portions of the
article which were by Frakes and StarTrek.com Producer Guy Vardaman,
and which were my further commentary/suggestions. Hopefully, you'll
find it useful.

This issue also has, as I mentioned last issue, the beginning of
our series of "good byes" to Deep Space Nine. Several people wrote
in to say what Deep Space Nine meant to them, and give their
heart-felt best wishes to the show. Although I only got a handful, I
was really blown away by how open and honest they were. I held some
back for future issues, in case we don't get any more (and I picked
randomly, so don't feel bad if yours was held back), but I do
encourage you to take a few minutes to write up your thoughts before
DS9 ends. (You're welcome to do so anonymously, just let me know.)
I'll be sure to put my comments into the final installment, along
with the (non-exclusive) thoughts of a special guest.

Rounding out this issue is the standard collection of airdates in
the US and UK. The Sci-Fi Channel airings are over, so there will be
no more schedules for that. Throw in a couple letters about the new
Star Trek Magazine, and you've got yourself another issue of Optical
Data Network.

If you didn't yet receive the new issue in your mailbox, you might want to check out the online edition.

PatrickStewart will narrate "L'Histoire du soldat" for the San
Francisco Symphony's Stravinsky Festival on 17 & 19 June at Davies
Symphony Hall. More information about the Festival can be found on
the San Francisco Symphony web site.

The Deseret News is reporting that Walter Koenig (TOS: Chekov)
appears in the new film "The Mummy."

The Detroit News is reporting that Ricardo Montalban (ST2TWOK: Khan)
is acting as ESPN's new spokesman for its coverage of auto racing. So
far, he has created one 30-second and six 15-second spots.

Armin Shimerman (DS9: Quark) was scheduled to appear last Thursday
at the semi-annual meeting of the Florida Screen Actors Guild.
Shimerman is a member of SAG's National Board of Directors.

An interview by Patricia O'Haire with Colm Meaney (TNG/DS9:
O'Brien), coinciding with his appearing on stage in "The Cider House
Rules, Part 1: Here in St. Cloud's" , can be found on
the New York Daily News web site.

Thanks go out to Adam Bailey, his delirium and his 'countless hours of research and caffeine' for this. Check out ODN here.

Voyager Season 6 NewsChristian (1:48 pm CST)NOTE: What are probably the first-ever spoilers for Voyager's sixth season can be found below. If you do not want to know these spoilers, click here to avoid them.

Michael Iversen at the Universe posted a mail from Gavin Williams, who recently attended a VIP screening of 'Star Trek: Insurrection.' At the meeting, he was able to talk to Mojo of Foundation Imaging, and learned the following:

I then asked him if he new anything about the story lines for season 6 voyager. He then told me that there will be an episode where voyager is captured by aliens and is then taken apart, so he said that they were still making up the story lines but he doesn't think that they would get rid of this episode.(sounds great)

Even though I'm not sure how reliable this is, it still sounds rather interesting. Find more at the Universe's Voyager news page.

Delta Blues Reviews '11:59'Christian (1:47 pm CST)Jim Wright at Delta Blues just put up his review of '11:59,' last week's new Voyager episode. With 4 out of a possible 5 stars, the episode was well received, quite probably because Wright noticed some striking parallels between this episode and several other great ones from Trek history:

I saw this episode as Janeway's "Inner Light" or "The Visitor," and a companion to "Living Witness." And an analogue of "Tomorrow is Yesterday" (remember Captain Christopher?)

'Strange Bedfellows' CreditsChristian (1:47 pm CST)David Henderson at Psi Phi just posted the full credits list for 'Strange Bedfellows,' the third DS9 Final Chapter episode. As usual, the credits show you everyone who worked on the episode, both on screen and behind the scenes. You can find the credit listing by going here.

"When It Rains..." was a bit frustrating, but I suspect that's mostly in comparison to the last four weeks, which have been fairly strong material overall. Although there are elements to "When It Rains..." which are superb (one storyline in particular), other pieces feel somewhat padded out to keep things going.

Essentially, "When It Rains..." is a bit of a lull; while there's little about it which seems bad, a lot of it feels more like marking time than anything else. The Section 31 material and the Winn/Dukat material are extremely promising, and much of the rest might turn out well--but for now, this one felt more "okay" than wonderful.

With a 6.5, this certainly was a disappointing episode for Lynch. Find a more detailed analysis here.

SFX Interviews Hans BeimlerChristian (1:44 pm CST)The Great Link has re-printed a short interview with DS9 writer Hans Beimler, which first appeared in the British SFX Magazine. Here's a short quote from the interview, in which Beimler talks about how the show evolved over the past seven years:

SFX:Ira S. Behr has said that if you were to hold the premiere episode of Deep Space Nine, 'The Emissary" up next to the finale, it would very much be a straight line from point A to point Z.

Hans Beimler:"It's a straight line we discovered looking back," Beimler says, "We didn't know where we were going until we got there. It was only a straight line once we looked back. This finale was not the plan all along. We really were keeping options open, discovering the series as we went along. There was a vague notion of what we wanted to do. I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but the original mission was to bring Bajor into the Federation. That's not even mentioned in the finale. The show has really had a life of its own."

Check out the full interview for more, including some pretty major 'What You Leave Behind' spoilers.

Trek Book NewsChristian (1:44 pm CST)Some more new Star Trek book info is now available at John Ordover's Q&A board, as the Pocket Books editor updated it again with several new responses. Take a look at two of the most interesting questions and answers:

Query from: Brian
How many books will Starfleet:Year One run in? Will it run as a continuing serial or does it have a predetermined ending point? How many of the New Frontier crew will be appearing in the Double Helix book?

Response from: John Ordover
It'll run as a serial in 12 books. All of the NF cast make an appearance.

Response from: John Ordover
We only did one DS9 hardcover, because sales of the paperbacks in the line don't justify hardcover publication.

Considering that one hardcover ('Warped') was also one of the worst Trek books imaginable, perhaps it's actually a good thing they won't be publishing more DS9 hardcovers. Anyway, more John Ordover responses can be found here.

'Strange Bedfellows' 14th Syndicated ShowChristian (1:44 pm CST)A report from Variety is saying that, for the week which ended the 25th of April, 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' occupied the 14th place in the 20 top-rated syndicated TV shows. If I'm not mistaken, that would mean the episode 'Strange Bedfellows,' the third DS9 Final Chapter episode.

-The Cardassian Resistance is probably one of the greatest ironies in the world of Trek, considering their own recent history fighting against resistance movements such as the Bajorans or the Maquis. What do you think about this?

If for some reason you don't think these threads are interesting, why not take part in one of the 27 other active discussions? Alternatively, you can always start your own discussions at the Trek BBS - remember, you don't even need to register to post!

New at TrekSeek.comChristian (1:42 pm CST)1076. That's how many Star Trek links you can currently find in the TrekSeek database. If you'd visit every site in our database, and you'd stay on each site no longer than five minutes, you'd be busy for 322800 seconds. That's 5380 minutes. That's 224 hours. That's.... okay, you get my point. In any case, take a look at three of the five new sites we added yesterday:

-Jay's Jeri Ryan / Seven of Nine Site just opened yesterday, and hasn't had more than 4 hits yet. Why not all visit his site and give him a thousand extra hits :-)? With a large collection of pictures, a filmography of Jeri Ryan and a biography of Seven of Nine it should certainly be worth it...

-VLAD stands for Voyager LCARS Active Desktop, and offers you the chance to get rid of that static desktop wallpaper and replace it with your own Voyager LCARS database. Featuring a brilliant LCARS interface, sounds and more ST:VOY info "than you can poke a Romulan at."

-Comando Centrale Cardassiano is the first Italian site dedicated to the Cardassian race. If you want to know anything about these people, you must enter here! (In Italian).

Hello World!Christian (1:42 pm CST)This morning I had an idea for something witty and intelligent I could mention here at 'Hello World!' Unfortunately I'm now faced with a headache the size of a Romulan Warbird and I forgot about it, so I guess it'll have to wait until tomorrow.

[Update, 21:30 CET:] Long live aspirine. I just recalled one of the things I wanted to mention. There is something I'd like to verify regarding the Voyager cuts - apparently this is only happening in the US, and not in Canada. Are there any Canadians who can confirm this? Are you still getting the full, uncut versions of the Voyager episodes? If so, please let me know.

Sunday May 9, 1999

Extreme Measures PreviewChristian (2:52 pm CST)Star Trek Interactive has just put up the trailers for 'Extreme Measures,' the 7th DS9 Final Chapter episode. As usual, the preview can be found not only as an MPEG video clip, but also as an ASF video, MP3 audio files, or a collection of zipped images. You can download the new trailers by going here, while they'll probably also be available soon at Mr. Video Productions.

Some good news and some bad this week. On BBC2, TNG again continued to climb from its ratings slump earlier in the month. This week's episode "Man of the People" gained an extra 50,000 viewers over last week. However, the DS9 news is bad again - the first season reruns failed to pick up where they left off last week, and DS9 was once again off the top 30 with an audience of below 2.13m. But Voyager, which returned for this week with "Mortal Coil", with a respectful #26, 2.27m rating - not as good as "Concerning Flight" from a fortnight ago, but nevertheless good considering Voyager's poor scheduling.

Over on Sky 1, the new Voyager season started reasonably well, ranking joint fifth with The Simpsons.

More (including a lovely graph showing the historical positions for TNG and DS9) can be found by going here.

Nicole deBoer who plays Ezri Dax on the hit television show Star Trek Deep Space Nine, will be at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo to sign autographs for fans.

deBoer will also be on hand to promote S&SI's upcoming game, Star Trek Deep Space Nine: The Fallen - being called the "ultimate Star Trek game" by the company. The game is based on the Deep Space Nine television series and will feature many of the characters that fans adore. Star Trek Deep Space Nine: The Fallen will ship this fall for the Mac and PC (Windows 98/95), and will be distributed by GT Interactive.

Considering E3 is only open to gaming development teams, publishers, members of the press and especially invited people, the chances of you being able to get in are, unfortunately, rather low :-(/.

I believe Starfleet Emergency equipment is designed to work without warp or impulse power on line--using old fashioned mechanical and chemical energy. After all, it the dissipators drained all energy, the biological energy moving our characters would have been drained too. The Breen weapon (as far as we've been able to tell) has gaps in its energy absorption spectrum.

This is the type of episode that's all atmosphere and minimal substance. With perhaps one key exception, what substance we have is mostly unmistakably obvious, with the lesson telegraphed far in advance.
But that doesn't really matter too much, because "Juggernaut" is an hour sold almost completely on performance, direction, and production values. The only real mystery here: How did it require three writers to come up with such a bare-boned story?

"Juggernaut" isn't bad; it's just really, really simple. It's B-movie action/adventure, with 20th-century themes that look like they were purchased at a bargain store. Maybe I'm somewhat spoiled right now with the deeply layered story arc of Deep Space Nine currently unfolding, but I think Voyager can dig a little deeper than this.

Jamahl is a lot more impressed with 'Someone To Watch Over Me,' which he awards with 3.5 out of 4 stars:

"Someone to Watch Over Me" is a human comedy with a ring of truth. The concept behind the story is relatively simple: Seven of Nine takes dating lessons. The result is an hour that takes many of the expected comic paths in ways that are impressively sincere, and also finds a bittersweet undercurrent that leaves one charmed. It's a straightforward story well conceived by Brannon Braga and well told by Michael Taylor, in probably the latter's best work of the season.

'11:59' Credits ListChristian (2:17 pm CST)David Henderson at Psi Phi has put up the credits list for last week's new Voyager episode, '11:59.' The credits list is a complete transcript of all the credits as they appeared on-screen, and offer you the chance to see precisely who worked on this episode. You can find the credits list by going here.

Last 3 DS9 Episodes CreditsChristian (2:16 pm CST)Today I spoke again with insider Faith, who has seen the scripts for the last 3 Deep Space Nine Final Chapter episodes. Faith was kind enough to provide me with some (non-spoiler) info on the three scripts:

What You Leave Behind
-Written by Ira Steven Behr & Hans Beimler
-Directed by Allan Kroeker
-Final Draft March 26, 1999, but "it went through quite a few revisions on top of that, from 3/26-4/7, at least based on what's listed here."

Although some of this info was already known (most notable the directors and some of the writers), this still is rather interesting info, and major thanks go out to Faith for providing this.

In the 2nd issue of Star Trek The Magazine on page 87 in the last paragraph of an article about Dorothy Fontana, Spock, the Vulcans and Romulans it mentions Vulcan's Fury and its
problems and reports that Fontana MAY HAVE TO CONVERT IT TO A NOVEL. Is there something going on here we don't know?

A little while later, Pocket Books editor John Ordover responded to this in the following way:

No, there isn't. I'm in touch with Ms. Fontana and we've discussed a totally different project. VF has too many complications.:)

Although it's great to hear that Fontana (who used to write for the Original Series, the Animated Series and the Next Generation) will perhaps be writing (another) Trek novel, it's still a pity to hear the Vulcan Fury project now seems completely dead. More on this as I get to hear it.

Paramount impresses with the DVD release of Star Trek: Insurrection. The 2.35x1 widescreen image is 16x9 enhanced once again, which is a sure sign that Paramount has been listening to our feedback. The picture quality is excellent, especially the outdoor mountain scenery. Bright exteriors are contrasted with dark space, and color and contrast hold true throughout, with enhanced resolution thanks to the anamorphic encoding (and no loss of resolution for 4x3 downconversion, if compared to a non-anamorphic transfer). A 4x3 transfer would also been nice for those people who are not quite to the widescreen television phase; perhaps future Paramount releases will include this as well.

The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is outstanding, with many instances of 360-degree sound. For example, when the crew of the Enterprise escorts the Ba'ku people up the mountain, it sounds like you are outside on a breezy day. When Picard and one of the Son'a enter an elevator, you hear it close behind you. When a laser gun battle ensues, shots are fired and land in all directions. This is why I like the multi-channel sound provided by Dolby Digital.

The review also mentions that the DVD contains a short making-of featurette, which is something I hadn't heard about before. You can find the full review, written by Steve Tannehill by going here. Thanks go out to Jeffrey Koga for pointing me to this.

Today on TVChristian (2:15 pm CST)-Tonight at 18:45 BST, BBC Two will be showing Voyager's 'Waking Moments.' Tomorrow in the UK, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Cardassians' at 17:00 and at 23:30 BST. (I have decided to start listing the shows a day ahead, as I don't usually make the 17:00 BST time anyway)

-Tomorrow at 15:00 CET, German television station Sat.1 will be showing 'Angriff der Borg, Teil 2' (Descent, Part Two).

Trek BBS TodayChristian (2:15 pm CST)Take a look at three of the most interesting discussions currently taking place at the Trek BBS:
-Why are Trekkers so humourless? Or is this only a problem with American Trekkers, as humble me added to that? Feel free to tell me why I am so utterly wrong by going here.

Hello World!Christian (2:14 pm CST)Today I heard about one of the most sickening things imaginable. The Dutch television station Veronica, apparently desperate for high ratings, will soon introduce a new type of reality tv. For this show, they'll invite 8 persons, who will have to live in a special house for a period of three months. During that time, they'll be completely separated from the rest of the world - they won't have access to television, radio or newspapers. They'll even grow their own vegetables to eat.

Everywhere in that house, in every room, the station wil place cameras, and every day they'll devote 30 minutes of airtime to what happened with those 8 people. On Thursdays, they'll have an extra-long show in which their behaviour will be analyzed by a team of psychologists. Is there anyone else who thinks this is incredibly sick and twisted?

Saturday May 8, 1999

Special 'Experience' EventsChristian (2:44 pm CST)Sorry for not reporting this earlier - it has been sitting in my mailbox for a few days now, but I completely forgot about it. Anyway, the people at the Star Trek Experience are reporting that some special events will be taking place at the Vegas Trek attraction over the next few months:

May 20, 1999--The writers and producers of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine will meet fans and sign autographs from 6-7:30p.m.

June 12, 1999--Klingon Empire Day--JG Hertzler, "General Martok," and
Patrick Massett, "Duras," will sign autographs from 3-4:30 p.m. There will
be chances for several contest winners to go on the 'Voyage Through Space'
with the actors. Then enjoy a "Feast with the Warriors" from 6-8 p.m. in
Quark's Bar & Restaurant complete with a Klingon buffet serving delicacies
such as "Rokeg Blood Pie" and "Slimy Tongue Balls"! The cost is $94.95 per
person and includes the buffet dinner with the actors, two drink tickets,
one ticket for the 'Voyage Through Space', and the "Empire Party" that will
continue after the "Feast with the Warriors" buffet from 8-11 p.m. The
"Empire Party" will have a DJ, dancing, prizes and drink specials. If you
purchase your tickets in advance the price is reduced to $74.95 per person.
There will be a $10 cover charge for guests that only attend the "Empire
Party." To make reservations for the "Feast with the Warriors" buffet,
please call 702-697-8725.

July 17, 1999--Aron Eisenberg, "Ensign Nog," and Cecily Adams, "Moogie," of
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine will make appearances from 1:30-2:30p.m. and
3:30-4:30p.m.

All of the above activities will take place in Quark's Bar. More information on this can be obtained by calling 702-697-8751.

Loonygames Rsven ArticleChristian (2:16 pm CST)Jason "loonyboi" Bergman, editor-in-chief at Loonygames, just uploaded part three of his massive Inside Raven Software feature. The feature describes every aspect of the game developer's history, and even includes a few short quotes on the upcoming 'Voyager Hazard Team' game:

There are so many horror stories about working on anything Star Trek related. What's Raven's experience been like? Apparently, they've had no problems. "I was worried about that," Brian Raffel explained. "But they realized that they should give us free reign. And we've already come up with some unique things that they've seen and hey…maybe they'll wind up in the series."

While Paramount might be giving them plenty of room, the fans won't be so forgiving, as Brian Pelletier pointed out. "We want to have free reign, we want to say, 'yeah, it's a licensed product, but we're just going to do what we want to do.' We want to make this really cool action game…but, it's Star Trek. So we really have to make sure we please those Star Trek fans. Not just the action gaming fans, but the Star Trek fans. It is a balance, and that's going to be the main issue here, trying to get that right balance. I actually look forward to it."

You can find the full feature by going here, and, while you're there, I'd advise you to check out the rest of the site as well - it's one of my personal favourites.

B5 Creator Continues Trek CriticismChristian (1:31 pm CST)In the rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated newsgroup, Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski continued his criticism of Deep Space Nine, as he reacted to a post by IslanderUK, who had some comments about Straczynski's earlier statements. IslanderUK mentioned how he remembered that DS9 began showing 6 weeks before the B5 pilot aired, to which Straczynsky replied:

Yeah, they pushed through their post production specifically to
beat us into the marketplace.

IslanderUK was also surprised that Straczynski never actually started legal action for plagiarism, but according to Straczynski that wasn't his fault:

It was discussed with WB for some time, but they felt that it
would be like getting into a protrated land war in Asia, and the
litigation might prevent B5 from getting a fair shot by being embroiled
in a conflict right out of the gate.

The last exchange is especially interesting:

IslanderUK:"As far as stealing your car is concerned, if your car was stolen you
would not have use of it. You still retained use of the B5 idea and the
fact that it is similar to DS9 did not prevent it being produced."

Straczynski:Actually, it almost did. WB came within an inch of canceling
the whole thing because they weren't sure the market could sustain two
space station series. It also hurt us in that fans thought that *we*
were the copycats, since we aired second. And Paramount played a lot
of games with the stations to try and keep us off the air so they'd
have the field to themselves. It took us almost two years to really
recover from the damage, it's still an annoyance that we seem to be
providing DS9 with R&D free of charge, and we still have a lot of fans
who think we copied them since our pilot aired second.

I suppose I'm biased in favour of Trek, but I would have liked to see Straczynski actually explaining some of his accusations, instead of just randomly attacking Paramount. Meanwhile, if you also have something to say about this matter, we still have a thread running about this at the Trek BBS - you can find it here.

OLD ACQUAINTANCE FORGOTTEN OF THE WEEK RUNNERS-UP: While everyone fussed and worried about Kira getting along with Dumb-Ar and his merry men, everyone seemed to forget that Garak has a score to settle with the Dumb One, as well, and that he is not exactly Cardassia's favorite son to begin with. You'd think his presence in Dumb-Ar's camp would be nearly as unwelcome as Kira's. And speaking of Dumb-Ar, I think the writers may have forgotten some of his back-story. Wooden says Dumb-Ar is a conventional soldier with no experience in guerilla warfare. Hello? I seem to recall him serving on Dukat's renegade Bird of Prey for about a year and a half, fighting a guerilla war against the Klingons. Not a huge discontinuity, but a discontinuity nonetheless.

Sometimes I wish the Cynic would provide a cast list with his reviews - I think I've lost track of all the Dumb Ones and Dumb-Ars etc. Find the full review here.

News On New Trek ToysChristian (1:29 pm CST)
The Raving Toy Maniac has updated again, providing us info on several upcoming action figures. First up is the news that New Force Comics and Collectibles will soon be selling a special 'Captain Kathryn Janeway From the Episode "'Flashback" ' figure, which will be based on the head of Janeway and the body of Saavik, quite probably in order to save on the costs. The figure will probably end up costing around $7.99 - $8.99, and you can already place orders by going here.I guess I'm feeling rather bored :-).
Secondly, some extra news is available on Target's upcoming 5" figures, which shows again which character really is the most popular in the world of Trek:

The second wave of Target Exclusive 5" figures should be available in the next couple of weeks. In a suprisingly intelligent move, the packing ratio for this assortment will be 5 Seven of Nines to 3 Datas, making the undeniable hot figure of this assortment easier to find and decreasing the chance that Data will become a pegwarmer.

Lastly, the Toy Maniac is reporting that a new edition of 'Mara's Corner' is available, the monthly column in which a Playmates representative answers all your questions. She also provides us with lots of new info on the various upcoming 12" figures, so you might want to check out the new edition.

Again, if you want to avoid reading spoilers for 'Relativity' I'd advise you to click here.

The Star Trek Universe has posted a convention report by John Richards, who recently visited the British Supernova 99 convention. Several Trek actors attended the convention, but also Mojo from special effects company Foundation Imaging, who had some interesting news bits:

Mojo from Foundation Imaging brought along some new footage from the upcoming Voyager episode Relativity, a brilliant scene of the Utopia Planitia shipyards - the scene shows ships in different stages of construction with Voyager nearly finished. It's a pretty good scene.
The pull-back shot is fantastic!! - theres a ship with its saucer section in the midst of construction at the beginning of the shot and you can just see the metal framework with a bit of the construction underway! - it's a must see shot!

Also, Mojo said that they'd done a test reel of Voyagers captains yacht dropping away from the ship but because of the whole Insurrection Captains Yacht business, the Voyager producers didn't want to take the thunder away from Movie!.

The full report also contains info on the final DS9 scene and on several recent rumours. Find it all here.

German Television Station InterviewedChristian (1:27 pm CST)The German Star Trek Index is reporting that a new edition of 'Trek Minds,' the online radio show, is now available. This edition is actually a rather special one, as representatives from the German television station Sat.1 are interviewed, and give their opinion on the recent problems with Voyager in Germany. You can find the latest edition of the radio show by going here, but remember that the show itself is actually in German.

'Warhead' Partial Press ReleaseChristian (1:27 pm CST)David Henderson at Psi Phi just put up the 'Partial Paramount Press Release' for Voyager's 'Warhead,' the penultimate episode of the season. In the press release, you'll be able to find the full creative staff, plus some info on the guest stars. It is interesting to note that the only currently listed guest star, McKenzie Westmore, also had a role in 'Star Trek: Insurrection' as a Ba'ku woman. Find the full partial press release here :-).

I have had a full synopsis for "What You Leave Behind" for a while now. Out of consideration for the writers have not published it, but now TrekWeb has scooped me and published a full synopsis. This is a bit of dent to my pride but I have now typed up the whole thing and it's on-line... Go there and be spoiled...

As I mentioned for the two other synopses, you probably don't want to read the synopsis if you still want to enjoy the episode. However, if you really want to read it, you can find it by going here.

Jeri Ryan Talk Show AppearanceChristian (1:25 pm CST)
The Official Jeri Lynn Ryan Homepage is reporting that Jeri Ryan will be appearing on the Paramount-produced 'Howie Mandel Show' this Wednesday, May 12. The Howie Mandel Show can be seen in 95 % of the country, according to the official home page, so you probably will be able to see it. Unfortunately for Mandel, Ryan will probably be one of his last guests, as his show will be cancelled near the end of May. Let's hope she'll be able to cheer him up :-).

Star Trek fans, here is your chance to program the Sci Fi Channel...
From May 7th to May 23rd vote in our online Star Trek Viewer Command poll. Submit your top three favorite Star Trek episodes and we'll tally up the results.

Then tune in on Memorial Day (Monday, May 31st) starting at 7am ET when we'll air the top 16 vote-getters in true countdown style. Due to their special status, the top four picks will air twice -- from 7pm to 11pm ET and again from 11pm to 3am ET.

More information can be found by going here, which is where you can also vote. Unfortunately, even during the marathon the Sci-Fi Channel will still be showing the syndicated version, so I guess you'll never be able to see the full version on the Sci-Fi Channel again :-(.

Today on TVChristian (1:23 pm CST)-In the UK, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'The Siege' at 16:00 BST and Voyager's 'Cold Fire' at 17:00. Tomorrow at those same times they'll be showing DS9's 'Invasive Procedures' and Voyager's 'Manoeuvres.'

Hello World!Christian (1:22 pm CST)I guess displaying my e-mail address out in the open on this site wasn't such a good idea as I initially thought. On the one hand the people who need it don't use it (christian@trekzone.net is what the correct address should be - most other addresses lead to Saleel), and on the other hand I'm getting spammed more and more. For a while now, Ive even been receiving a spam from Russia! In Russian, no less. Unfortunately, I've got no idea how to say 'abuse@' in Russian, so I guess I'll have to live with those spams until my next address change :-).

REVELATION OF THE WEEK: Well, we were promised a "dark secret" regarding Janeway's ancestor, and I guess we got one: she was a spammer. I had to laugh at the notion of "emailing everyone within 100 miles" though. I think Braga and Menosky are a little Unclear on the Concept of email.

Great Link Finale InfoChristian (1:07 pm CST)NOTE: This post contains minor spoilers for the DS9 finale, 'What You Leave Behind.' They only deal with Morn, though, so you probably don't need to click this link.

Again, only click here if you're an active Morn Watcher, for the rest no 'What You Leave Behind' spoilers can be found below.

TGL received information for this episode a few weeks ago. I was intending to release these spoiler snippets a lot closer to the airdate of "What you Leave Behind". However, there is much information about the finale online now that I figured that the chances of other sites releasing more information about the episode before it aired was pretty darn high. So with that in mind, I figured 'What the hell?'

A lot of major plot points are revealed in the Great Link's report, so you probably will not want to read it. There is, however, one news snippet I just had to include:

We learn that Morn is friends with Admiral Ross, and has dinner regularly with Captain Sisko.

You can find all the info by going here, but, again, if you still want to enjoy the finale I'd strongly advise you NOT to go there.

DS9 TV Guide Issue ConfirmedChristian (12:55 pm CST)Thanks to insider Faith, yesterday we were able to report that TV Guide will be publishing a special DS9-centered issue in the week 'What You Leave Behind' will be airing. Today I received confirmation from TV Guide that this will actually be happening:

Our records indicate that the week of 5/29/99, there will be 4 covers commemorating the 'DS9' series finale. We do not know at this time who will be on the covers.

Yesterday, Faith did have a few thoughts on who would feature on these covers:

As for the covers themselves, my best guess is that #1 will feature Captain Benjamin and Jake Sisko, #2 will feature Odo and Kira, #3 will feature O'Brien and Bashir, and #4 will feature Dax, Worf, and Quark.

Keep in mind that these covers haven't yet been confirmed, so the above info should be taken as pure speculation. Furthermore, they might actually still change, as Holly Kim Wilson, charity coordinator of the official Marc Alaimo fan club, just sent me the following info:

We're sort of starting an e-mail campaign to add Dukat, Damar, and Weyoun
as potential cover boys. If anyone wants to help, just have them go to TV Guide's site at
www.tvguide.com and post a polite request to add a Dukat, Damar, and Weyoun cover to the list.

In any case, whoever makes the covers, this is absolutely wonderful news for Deep Space Nine - the ratings for 'What You Leave Behind' will almost certainly be a lot higher now TV Guide is so prominently backing the show.

William Shatner competes at the Del Mar Horse Show May 7 - 9, 1999. This is all the information we have been given at this time.
His Saddlebreds are exquisitely beautiful and always show well.

If all goes well, I'll be reporting on Shatner's results over the next few days, thanks to The Saddle Horse Report. Of course, if someone who knows more about horses than me, and who is actually able to interpret the results correctly, would like to take over and send in reports on this, I'd more than love to hear from you.

"Someone to Watch Over Me" performed lower than its overnight would have indicated, earning a 3.4 rating, 5 share. That's down from the season average for the show and also down 13% from last year's "Living Witness." That rating doubled "Juggernaut"'s mark from earlier this week, but fell to the last first-run in Voyager's usual timeslot, "Think Tank."

Wednesday's '11:59' seems to have done slightly better:

"11:59" performed quite well to open sweeps for Voyager, roping a 5.6 rating, 8 share. That's up a tenth of a ratings point from last week's "Someone to Watch Over Me" and is average for the season to date.
In the timeslot, "Charmed" stayed just barely ahead of Voyager, earning a 5.7/8. That left "11:59" in 6th with Fox in fourth for the 8-9 hour. "Seven Days" performed well above average, helping UPN's average for the night, turning in a 4.0.

As I said last week, this a pretty good looking overnight (although when I said it last week, it translated into a pretty disappointing national rating, so you never know). The show seems to be back on track, but the national numbers will be the first to determine that for certain.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, comes the ratings report for DS9's 'Til Death Do Us Part,' the second Final Chapter episode:

In a generally slumping week for the syndicated dramas, "'Til Death Do Us Part" saw a dip from last week, falling to a 4.1 rating, ranking 14th. With that, this episode joins nearly half a dozen others which hold DS9's lowest rating achieved in a firstrun episode. "'Til Death" was also down from last week's "Penumbra" and last year's "In the Pale Moonlight."

Xena and Hercules also ran new episodes this week, but niether managed to crack the top 25, which places DS9 at the top of the syndicated weekly dramas. It was a pretty bad week for syndication in general, which could have contributed to the lower rating.
More can be found in the full reports for 'Someone To Watch Over Me', '11:59' and 'Til Death Do Us Part'.

More on BotF Going GoldChristian (12:53 pm CST)FedCom, the 'Birth of the Federation' news site, has received an e-mail from Jeff Holzhauer, the producer of Microprose's upcoming turn-based strategy game. In it, he has some disappointing news for European BotF fans such as myself:

Yes BotF has gone gold, the US version anyway. Additionally, the ship date has been moved up a week. It will now launch (in the US) on May 18th.

The German version has not gone gold. That means that currently the UK/German joint disk will be a week later than originally planned.
This date may change if Hasbro UK decides to ship a UK version only, which would speed up the UK date, or we don't master German by this weekend, which would further delay the international release.

Just when I was hoping I would *finally* get my hands on a piece of Trek before the Americans. Sigh.

I may have to revoke my previous comments that this entire arc has been nothing short of excellent. I was all excited for this one because it looked like a great, classic Kira episode -- you know, send her into a tough situation where people foolishly doubt her, then watch her kick ass. Instead, we've got too many threads going on here, all of which are worthy, but the writers could have focused on one or two and let the others just sort of carry on in the background. The end result is kind of like an over-caffeinated kid at a carnival: "oooh, oooh, there's Kira in a Starfleet uniform. I'll bet she's gonna go and...hey! What's up with Gowron? He's all crabby and...what do you mean Odo's infected too? When did that...oooh, Dukat! Blind! Can I go on the ferris wheel?"

In the full review, Sarah Kuhn awards the episode 3 out of 5 stars - you can find her full reasons for that by reading this.

Star Trek CCG Tournament ChangesChristian (12:52 pm CST)Decipher, the publisher of the Star Trek Customizable Card Game, has announced several changes in procedure for the official tournaments. The changes were made necessary because the rapidly increasing popularity of the official tournaments, and include extra tournament rules and revamped prize packages. The full list of changes can be found by going here.

Starfleet Command Beta ReportChristian (12:51 pm CST)YnrohKeeg at Star Trek Gaming Central has put up the very first installment of his 'Starfleet Command Beta Report,' in which he will be keeping us up to date on his experiences while beta-testing the game. The report immediately begins with a rather surprising bit of new info:

Your training missions are conducted by Captain Sulu himself! He teaches you the basics of how to fly your ship, and at one point I even got to get into a little fight with him. Yeah, right! I'm in a wimpy Constitution Class ship, and he comes barreling at me in his Excelsior. Needless to say, my butt was extremely kicked. Several times. Then it just got worse. But I'll let you wait and see for yourself just how worse it got!

In the rest of the report he comments on the game's graphics (which are nice) and the controls (which aren't). Find it all here.

William Shatner hosted the Hollywood Charity Horse show entitled STAR TREK GOES COUNTRY at the Los Angeles, Equestrian Center in Burbank for his Ahead with Horses charity while cross-town Patrick Stewart played Cricket with The Los Angeles Social cricket Alliance (LASCA) vs. The Lord's Taverners. Among the players Sir Tim Rice, John Rhys Davis (VOYAGER, SLIDERS), David Warner (STAR TREK: VI and TITANIC), while Michael York (LOGAN'S RUN, AUSTIN POWERS) and Roy Dotrice (AMADEUS, BEAUTY & THE BEAST) were in the bleachers watching.

I think I'll refrain from commenting on the merits of that wonderful 'sport' cricket this time - my mailbox is full enough as it is without all those flames :-). You can find the original article here, which also contains a picture of Shatner as he appeared at the Hollywood Charity Horse Show.

Voyager's Youngest AstronautChristian (12:51 pm CST)Michelle Erica Green at AnotherUniverse's Mania Magazine has written an article dealing with Scarlett Pomers, most famous for her role as Naomi Wildman on Star Trek: Voyager. Most of the article is, understandably, dedicated to her role on Voyager, including the below quote dealing with her make-up experiences:

"I get asked how long the makeup takes a lot, and the answer is ten minutes," Pomers noted last week after completing work on Voyager's season finale. Unlike actor Ethan Phillips, who has to arrive at the set between 3 and 5 a.m. to get Neelix's prosthetics put on and who suffers under the sweltering lights, Pomers barely remembers that her own makeup is there. "Sometimes I go to scratch my forehead, and I'm like, 'Auugh! Oops!' They have to paint it a little bit to make it look white on the base, so then they have to fix it."

The rest of the article goes on to talk about how she got the role on Voyager, but also includes info on her non-Trek projects such as the musical 'Gepetto' and the movie 'Slappy and the Stinkers.' The article even mentions Scarlett's official web site, where you'll be able to find even more on the young actress. For now, though, the actual article can be found here.

PlayStation® is throwing an exclusive party for a select group of Los Angeles kids to celebrate the kickoff of the Electronic Entertainment Exposition (E3 Expo) and allow them to experience all of the excitement of a videogame trade show. Kids can't get into E3 Expo, but at Kids Day, they will get a glimpse of what goes on inside E3 Expo, and an opportunity to preview the hottest videogames that will be shown there.

The event will also be attended by several celebrities, who will be speaking with attendees and who will 'have the chance to participate in video game competitions,' and one of these celebrities is LeVar Burton (Geordi LaForge).

Today on TVChristian (12:50 pm CST)-In the UK, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'The Circle' at 17:00 and 23:30 BST. Tomorrow at 16:00 BST they'll be showing DS9's 'The Siege,' followed an hour later by Voyager's 'Cold Fire.' Thanks go out to the Television Observation Unit of the Star Trek Collective for that last bit of info.

The Guide to Animated STAR TREK is the most complete TAS (The Animated Series) site on the net. I know, this isn't hard with only two known bad boys on the block... but I am not kidding. This site has got the history, the EPS list, the air dates - you name it. If it happened on TAS - this site talks about it!

You can find the full review by going here - it's definitely worth checking out!

Hello World!Christian (12:48 pm CST)Something which I thought was extremely clear (and probably is to most of you), but - I am NOT involved in any way in the production of Star Trek. Over the past few weeks I have received several mails from people complimenting me on the show, or asking me for autographed photos of actors, but, I repeat, I haven't got anything to do with the show. If you want to send comments to the people who actually create the show, I suggest you visit the Continuum, which is the official site.

Thursday May 6, 1999

TV Guide To Focus On DS9Christian (2:49 pm CST)Today, I got contacted by 'Faith', another source who is close to Paramount (it
must be my lucky week! :-). Faith sent me some very interesting news
bits:

The week of 'What You Leave Behind' will feature four different TV
Guide covers featuring the DS9 cast - a treatment that's long since
overdue since I have hardly seen a peep from the mainstream media
about DS9 ending - particularly when shows like Home Improvement, Mad
About You, Melrose Place, and The Nanny are all ending in May (and
getting much more press since they're network shows.)

As for the covers themselves, my best guess is that #1 will feature
Captain Benjamin and Jake Sisko, #2 will feature Odo and Kira, #3 will
feature O'Brien and Bashir, and #4 will feature Dax, Worf, and
Quark.

If this news is true, it would certainly be wonderful news for Deep
Space Nine - certainly more people would tune in to watch 'What You
Leave Behind,' which can only be good for Star Trek's future. More on
this as I get to hear it.

'Trekkies' Press ReleaseChristian (2:31 pm CST)Paramount just sent out the official press release for Roger Nygard's new documentary, 'Trekkies,' starring Denise Crosby. Take a look at the documentary's description and credits:

--``Trekkies,'' directed by Roger Nygard and starring Denise Crosby, will open May 21 in 330 theatres nationwide.
People are at their funniest -- often showing their most bewildering and endearing humanity -- when they are in the midst of their most obsessive behavior. And there is no one quite as obsessive as a truly serious ``Star Trek'' fan.

[...]

The film is an entertaining, incisive, and fascinating look at the world through the eyes of the people we have come to know as ``Trekkies.''
Paramount Classic presents ``Trekkies,'' a Neo Art & Logic Production of a Roger Nygard Film. Directed by Roger Nygard, the film stars Denise Crosby, who also serves as co-executive producer. W.K. Border produces with Michael Leahy and Joel Soisson as executive producers. Paramount Classics, a division of Paramount Pictures.

The full press release also mentions some of the highlights of the documentary - find it all here.

Star Trek Companions AnnouncedChristian (2:23 pm CST)Simon & Schuster Interactive, the software arm of Simon & Schuster, which in turn is the publishing operation of Viacom, just announced its lineup for the 1999 Electronic Entertainment Expo. Of course, they'll be prominently showing their 'Deep Space Nine - The Fallen' game, but the press release also mentioned two upcoming 'Companion' CD-Roms:

Star Trek Deep Space Nine/The Next Generation Companions - The ultimate viewing companion for fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine on CD-ROM (Windows 98®/95®/ Macintosh®). These CD-ROMs (to be sold separately) will allow Trekkers, for the first time, to see video trailers, read detailed summaries of each episode, and read and search the scripts from each episode in their entirety.

The way I read it, that would mean they'd include the scripts of each and every episode - if that is indeed true, these should turn out to be absolutely great products. It does make me wonder why I had to pay so much for Pocket Books' recent Scriptbooks, though ;-). Find the full press release here.

The overnight rating is in, and Voyager did a little better than last week. It got a 5.6/8 and was Nr. 6 for the hour. It was only 0.1 lower Charmed that aired on WB, and since WB can be seen in 85% of USA and UPN only in 73%, it's an okay result. 7 Days got a 4.0, that was up 0.5 from last week.
The final rating for Voyager will probably be around 3.3 to 3.8.

Check out the actual report for some evidence of the Universe's psychic powers :-).

Venom just ICQ'ed me to let me know that Birth of the Federation has gone gold. The current release date is May 26th in the USA, and I think May 19 in Europe. Probably a consolation prize for us getting the Star Wars movie earlier. Anyway, by month's end, you should be commanding a fleet in the name of your chosen empire. Just a little more patience...

Just two short weeks before I'll be able to buy this fantastic-looking game - I can't wait! If you can't wait either, I suggest you go to this page at EBWorld - that's where I found the above cover image.

'Relativity' Press ReleaseChristian (11:59 am CST)NOTE: Below you'll find spoilers for next week's new Voyager episode, 'Relativity.' Click here to avoid reading those spoilers and move on to the next update.

Again, this is where you need to click to be transported to the next update.

David Henderson at Psi Phi has put up the official press release for next week's new Voyager episode, 'Relativity.' Take a look at the synopsis included in the press release:

In an episode that revisits Janeway's first day aboard the U.S.S. Voyager and then fast forwards 500 years beyond it when her ship is destroyed, Captain Braxton of the 29th century Federation Timeship Relativity contacts Seven of Nine to go back in time to solve the mystery of who planted the "temporal disrupter" which ultimately destroyed the U.S.S. Voyager. But when the new starship captain, Janeway, catches the mysterious Seven aboard the brand new U.S.S. Voyager, she detains her, an interference that could contaminate the time-line.

More can be found in the full press release, while, as I probably mentioned at least a dozen times already, a possible synopsis of the episode is also still available.

In the new Sev Trek competition John Cook continues experimenting with the Sev Trek format:

Pickhard's Haircut! No, this is not an animated comic strip. Instead, you have a choice between writing a speech bubble for Pickhard or a speech bubble for Mr Mot... or BOTH (in either order, I can always flip the cartoon). So how's that for flexibility?!

Ted Witt Reviews 'When It Rains...'Christian (11:58 am CST)Ted Witt just posted his review of DS9's 'When It Rains...' to the Psi Phi DS9 Discussion Boards, beginning, just like Mania'sMichelle Erica Green with the obligatory 'It Pours' joke. That doesn't mean that his review is completely the same as Green's review, as he seems to be a lot more positive about the episode:

In some ways, this latest episode is a quiet prelude, the redevelopment of the main themes of the Final Chapter's grand symphony. There is no direct conclusions, no grand finale, no explosions. We have variations of some older themes and development of newer ones. Unlike some of the previous episodes dissonance between scenes, clashing of chords, movement too quickly between motifs, this episode has, in my opinion, some of the nicest harmonizing and plotting yet. The episode does not seem rushed at all. It builds nicely, all the while containing and anticipating the dramatic conclusions just weeks away. It is a very nice episode.

The full review also contains a detailed synopsis of the episode, more analysis, and the announcement that he's upgraded his rating for 'The Changing Face Of Evil!' *This* episode, meanwhile, receives an A-, as you can read in the full review.

Mania Reviews '11:59'Christian (11:57 am CST)Besides her 'When It Rains...' review, Mania'sMichelle Erica Green also put up her review of Voyager's '11:59,' which she seems to like even more than the DS9 episode:

There are two reviews I could write about "11:59." One is about how wonderful it was to see Kate Mulgrew get to play a character with some depth and dimension, an offbeat sense of humor, some human warmth, some weaknesses which make her seem to be growing as a person instead of falling apart. The other is about what a silly episode this was, inconsistent with previous Star Trek history and Janeway history, slow-paced, entirely predictable. Sadly, given the kind of season Voyager has had, I'm inclined to stick with the former, because despite the latter I enjoyed this episode very much.

When I first started watching Voyager, I admired how at home Mulgrew seemed in the captain's chair (which Picard and Sisko did not, at first); now, however, it strikes me how much more comfortable she seems in a bar or a bookstore. This performance was so natural that I kept forgetting I was watching a fictional character. Her interactions with both Henry and Jason Janeway were low-key, witty, genuine, with none of the forced maternal gestures we get from Kathryn Janeway and no captain-like posturing we've seen increasingly in the past two seasons; some of that relaxation crossed over into the final scenes, which I liked very much, and I hope the trend stays. She looked like she was enjoying this episode, and she was in virtually every scene so it must have been a long shooting week - even if the plot had silly anachronistic moments, I'd rather watch good dialogue than technobabble any day.

Query from: Andrew
John: If it takes nine to eighteen months to write, publish & ship a Star Trek paperback novel, does that mean that Diane Carey started writing the DS9 finale in October of 1998?

Response from: John Ordover
Novelizations are an entirely different matter. Diane wrote the DS9 novelization in about a week.

In the rest of his Q&A he talks about novel guidelines, the upcoming Captain Pike novels and the DS9 novel series. Find it all here.

TrekWeb Reviews DS9 FinaleChristian (11:56 am CST)NOTE: As difficult as it was, in this post I've tried to minimize the amount of spoilers for the DS9 finale, but there are still one or two left. If you really want to remain completely spoiler-free for the finale, click here to move on.

Again, click here to avoid reading spoilers for 'What You Leave Behind.'
TrekWeb just posted what can only be described as the biggest scoop since the Insurrection script hit the net, as they put up a detailed synopsis and review for 'What You Leave Behind,' the DS9 finale. Take a look at what reviewer Steve Perry had to say about this:

I've had the privilege to read the script to the final episode of DS9. Because of exams and general hectic-ness I've not been able to tell you my thoughts on it. Well I still have exams, but since this is the final episode after all...

The writers may be mad that we got it, nonetheless that I'm now telling everyone about it. Unfortunately, 'tis the nature of our business. Scripts get out all the time. People want to know what happens. It should be a testament to the fact that so many people care that I'm bothering to do what I am doing right now. It certainly is not an attempt to undermine a show that in any regard is ending. At the end of the day what is written on the page speaks for itself, whether you know about it now or in the first week of June.

Some major spoilers that were floating around the internet are confirmed in TrekWeb's synopsis, while it also adds lots of plot points. Remarkably, it even seems as if the episode writers are hinting that DS9 may still have a future, which can only be considered good news. Even so, Steve Perry isn't altogether enthusiastic about the episode, though it should be remembered that he only read the script, and did *not* see the actual episode.

You can find the full synopsis here, though I VERY STRONGLY recommend not reading it - you will probably enjoy the episode a lot less if you already know all the plot points in advance. Meanwhile, a small plot thread dealing with the ethics involved in posting such a synopsis can be found here on the Trek BBS - I myself haven't actually made up my mind about this issue yet.

Mania Reviews 'When It Rains...'Christian (11:55 am CST)Michelle Erica Green at Mania Magazine has put up her review of this week's new DS9 episode, 'When It Rains...' She isn't that impressed with some parts of the episode, though she really liked Kira's involvement with the Cardassians:

I say, WOO HOO! I loved the Cardassians rejecting all her ideas, only to have Garak point out that the Obsidian Order would do the same, then Demar agreeing that they haven't got a better plan themselves. Kira's tantrum after being goaded about Odo's conflicted loyalties during the Occupation seemed excessive, since that is something she must have found some way to deal with in order to have fallen in love with him in the first place. Bashir mentioned Odo's discovery and experimentation upon by the Bajoran scientist Mora, who must have left the young changeling conflicted about any loyalties to Bajor; it was helpful to remember that, because the Cardassians had a point about Odo's past compared with Kira's. I loved the look on her face when she first heard Odo's diagnosis, and the look on his face when he lied to her after realizing that he already had symptoms. I don't know if I'll cry for any individual character on this series no matter what happens, but I will definitely cry if these two have to part.

Gamespot UK Previews Trek GamesChristian (11:55 am CST)Gamespot UK has put up previews of four upcoming Star Trek games, namely of Microprose's 'Birth of the Federation' and Interplay's 'Klingon Academy' and 'Starfleet Command.' Take a look at how the Birth of the Federation preview begins:

We had a bit of an argument with the nice PR person who brought Star Trek The Next Generation: Birth Of The Federation (abbreviated for evermore as BOTF) into the office for preview. You see she wanted to demonstrate the game by playing as the Ferengi. How humiliating. They may have vast eyebrows and ears the size of a small elephant's, but they're a devious, backstabbing, puny race and should rightfully be crushed by a superior one like, say, the Klingons. Oh well, each to their own ­ personally I'll stick to my trusty betleH, furrow my brow and grow a wispy moustache.

The BotF preview also contains the following rather interesting quote:

Interestingly, the Borg was considered for inclusion in the game, but rejected because of its character. After all, this is a strategy game and the Borg has only one strategy: encounter and assimilate ­ ad infinitum, forget development and diplomacy. Not exactly the most stimulating way forward. As you meet the other races you get a chance to talk to their representatives, engaging in meaningful discussion about your alliances, who you're at war with and so on. Again the Borg would have limited this dialogue to 'I am Five of Nine, you will be assimilated', with no further elaboration. Having said that I'm sure we'd all like to be assimilated by Seven of Nine. Ahem.

Meanwhile, you can see for yourself if you'd like to be assimilated by the game itself by going here, while you might also want to read the Klingon Academy preview or the Starfleet Command preview. Gamespot also has a New Worlds gallery available, but that just includes a bunch of screenshots of Interplay's upcoming real-time strategy game. Thanks go out to Evil Avatar for pointing me to this.

-British television channel Sky One will be showing DS9's 'The Homecoming' today at 17:00 and at 23:30 BST. Tomorrow at those same times they'll be showing 'The Circle.' Today at 18:00, yet another DS9 episode will be shown on BBC Two, namely 'Progress.' Thanks go out to the Television Observation Unit of the Star Trek Collective for that last bit of info.

Trek BBS TodayChristian (11:54 am CST)The Trek BBS still has lots of interesting discussions currently going on, including several new posts by Paramount insider Atavachron. Take a look at some of the active topics:

-The Official Walter Koenig Website is the only official web site dedicated to Walter Koenig (Pavel Chekov). Here you'll also be able to purchase autographed photos of the man.

-Terminal IV is a German Star Trek site with a huge database, including the latest news, links, many pictures etc. Obviously, the site will only be useful for you if you understand German.

If you really want to see more new sites, the listing of last week's new sites can be found here.

Hello World!Christian (11:53 am CST)For some strange reason, Paramount is *still* buying commercial space for 'Star Trek: Insurrection' on MTV Europe, the music channel. This morning, I noticed two Insurrection commercials during just 30 minutes - the first time they showed the longer version, the second time the shorter version. Does anyone know the reason for this? Is Insurrection maybe still running in some European countries I don't know about? Or is maybe MTV unable to sell all its ad space, and is it now giving away ad space to Paramount (which is also owned by Viacom)? I *really* cannot figure them out...

Wednesday May 5, 1999

Running A CCG Tournament, Part 2Christian (2:03 pm CST)Decipher, the company behind the Star Trek Customizable Card Game, has posted the second in a series of articles dealing with how to run a CCG tournament. This particular installment, which was also written by CCG veteran Neil Kirby, deals with the actual day itself. New Trek CCG Ambassadors should probably read it - it looks very useful. You can find the article by going here.

Bryan Fuller Chat TranscriptChristian (1:56 pm CST)Well, this certainly went a lot faster than I thought when I posted the below update, but the people at TrekWeb just put up the transcript of their chat with Bryan Fuller. In it, he mentions that Voyager probably won't be returning in the near future:

Bryan Fuller: Voyager's return to Alpha has been the subject of much debate. Much to the chagrin of many staff members, there are no plans to bring Voyager home just yet.

Furthermore, he also gives some more info on the recent reshoots for 'Equinox,' which has apparently be renamed 'The Episode That Wouldn't Die' by the cast and crew:

Berserker1: I've heard that there has been problems concerning the finale... namely that it came up several minutes short. Is this true, and how did that get worked out?

Bryan Fuller:Actually, most of our episodes come up several minutes short. We haven't quite pinned down the source of this woe, but it happend more often than not.

What usually happens is we'll get a call from the editors telling us how short the episode is. If it's just a couple of minutes we add a scene here or there. If it's like ten minutes short we add a b-story.

For example, the framing device of Paris in the Brig for "Thirty Days" was all conceived after the show was shot. It was eight minutes short so Brannon had the idea of creating this framing device with Paris in lock-up. None of that was in the original script.

Find more in the full transcript, or, if you're just interested in the news items he mentioned, take a look at this update from a few hours ago. Thanks go out again to Heather Jarman for this.

Continuum 'Changing Face' SynopsisChristian (1:24 pm CST)The official Star Trek Continuum has put up its official synopsis of 'The Changing Face Of Evil,' last week's new Deep Space Nine episode. If you missed the show and want to know precisely what happened, you should probably click here to read the synopsis. Thanks go out to Leonard Schuurmans at Warp Eleven for pointing me to this.

"I was actually working on location in Newfoundland [the Canadian island province] when my manager called me," says deBoer. "He told me that he had received a phone call from Hans Beimler, who is the supervising producer on Deep Space Nine. Hans wanted to know if I would be interested in coming in to read for the part of a new character on the series. He had worked on a couple of television shows in Toronto, Beyond Reality and TekWar, that I also had appeared in, so I knew him quite well although we hadn't seen each other in a year. I thought, 'That's really sweet of Hans to think of me, but I don't stand a chance because I'm sure they'll want to get some well known actress for the part.' "

In the end, she was of course selected for the role, as you can read in the full interview.

Delta Blues Reviews 'Someone...'Christian (1:01 pm CST)Jim Wright has put up another of his massive Voyager reviews, this time for last week's 'Someone To Watch Over Me.' Apparently, he absolutely loved the episode:

This is one of the most laugh-out-loud funny episodes of Voyager in quite a while. Its strengths are found chiefly in the performances and the directing. The plot is pure "My Fair Lady," but the adaptation to Voyager's sets and characters still works, and some particularly memorable scenes add up to a satisfying, lighthearted hour of entertainment.

The focus of this story is on Seven of Nine and the Doctor, with prominent supporting roles by Tom Paris and Neelix and the alien ambassador Tomin. Doc and Seven were called on for a little "Sleepless in Sickbay" style romantic comedy. Tom plays the evil John Malkovich role from Dangerous Liaisons (boo, hiss). Neelix and Tomin are pretty much in Broad Comedy (TM) mode. (There were a pair of guest-starring Man Candy that were there chiefly as first-hand testimonial to Seven's social ineptitude. These scenes were a cross between romantic comedy and low-key slapstick, offering a counterpoint to the Doc/Seven moments.)

I was pleased by all the performances--even the smallest roles had a little more oomph than usual--but I found Picardo and Jeri Ryan particularly effective. We've seen "romance episodes" on Voyager that worked pretty well, and others that were about as romantically charged as a book on tape of the US Tax Code narrated by Ben ("Beuller? Anyone?") Stein.

Call it "When Hairless Met Seven." Or not.

In the full review he awards the episode 4 out 4 stars, which certainly isn't bad. You can find his complete analysis (plus his massive synopsis) by going here.

From The Wormhole
Robert Justman with the story behind the opening narration for the original STAR TREK.

Kate Mulgrew
An exclusive interview with the captain of the U.S.S. VOYAGER.

Spock, Vulcans and Romulans
D.C. Fontana talks about her involvement with Spock, his people and their Romulan cousins.

Of course, lots more very interesting articles are available, but to find out more about that you'll either have to visit their site or just buy the magazine. At their site you will also be able to find info on what issue 3 will be bringing you, such as interviews with Leonard Nimoy en Armin Shimerman.

Rumours On Defiant's FutureChristian (12:18 pm CST)I received some more info from Atavachron today, in which he gave
the following very interesting (possible) insights about the Defiant's
future:

"Since the Defiant has been destroyed on air, it would seem that the
Defiant class will indeed be used in the future although the "Defiant"
as
such won't be back as we knew her, since she was destroyed and the
launch plate had been removed from the set (they all get saved). They
have
always the option to bring her back as the Defiant "A" or with a
Defiant
class ship with another name. Early on in the series it was noted that
the
"Defiant" class was not built because of a weakness. But given the
popularity
of the ship both with her crew and the fans, I'm sure that the
"weakness" in
design can be/will be fixed and a series of ships may well get built in
the
storyline as they see fit, be it the Defiant "A" or whatever.

"If you watched the trailers of the last show, there seems to be a
Defiant-class
ship shown and to note once more: the sets were in very good shape when
they
were struck as compaired to the sets of ships that have been destroyed
on air,
including the Enterprise "D" which were not going to be used again. Even
after
the battle scenes from "First Contact" the sets of the Defiant showed
far greater
abuse and were refurbished. However in this case the sets could have
also been
cleaned up before they were struck. And after watching a frame by frame
view
of the battle sequence, they seemed to be less destructive then they
have been on
the other "destroyed" ships, including another set on the lot a few
weeks ago.

"A bit of trivia: the Defiant was known inhouse by some of the crew as
a "Borg Buster"
and not a "warship". Several of the production crew were still working
with Gene's
view of things, and they prefered to avoid the use of the term
"warship". So the future
of the "Defiant"? Stay tuned, could be Voyager (been discussed), could
be a feature
length film again. A qualification as always, I do not watch the shows
with any regularity
because of work or other reasons. I work from what I see."

This certainly sounds very interesting! If you'll allow me to do some specualtion, it now seems the Defiant-class starship may actually have a future, besides the remaining Final Chapter
episodes. Certainly having
the Defiant on Voyager would be great!

More info when I get it, and remember that this source does not do plot info
or casting rumours - in case you missed the original announcement a few days
ago, the rumour that Kate Mulgrew and Jeri Ryan might want to leave the show
did not come from Atavachron, but rather from the excellent Backstage Pass
site.

Ron Moore Transfer ConfirmedChristian (12:12 pm CST)I'm ashamed to admit that not only did I forget to mention the Continuum's Dan Curry chat last Thursday, I also completely forgot about TrekWeb's chat with Voyager writers Bryan Fuller and Michael Taylor, which took place yesterday. In my defence, TrekWeb apparently forgot to really promote the chat, which was a pity, as it was apparently quite interesting. Even though the TrekWeb people haven't yet put up a transcript, the great Heather Jarman was kind enough to send me some info on what Bryan Fuller had to say:

First, he said that Ron Moore is already at work on Voyager and one of
his first projects is a B'Elanna episode. (Knowing how well Ron does
with Klingons, this is great news). Rene Echevarria is not on staff.
They are working with five writers -- Nick Sagan and Ken Biller are both
gone. Neither was fired contrary to rumour. Bryan did say that Joe [Menosky] and Ron will be Brannon's right and left hands. Mike and
Bryan will be the appendages but he said he wouldn't specify which :-)

They did the breakdown for the season opener today and it will be a
spectacular "event" show. They are talking about doing more two-parters
and Voyager movies (like Dark Frontier) for next year.

Not to crush the hearts of Janeway/Chakotay fans, Bryan made it
very clear that theirs was a romance that was never going to happen. They will
always be great friends, but no one should hold their breath to see anything
more. He talked specifically about Tuvok and Neelix stories and mentioned that
Chakotay was a character in need of rehab--he was falling into the "first
officer" syndrome.

This certainly sound very interesting - be sure to check out the full transcript when it appears here. Thanks go out to Heather Jarman for sending me this info.

New Voyager Episode SpoilersChristian (12:08 pm CST)NOTE - In the below update you'll find major spoilers for the last two Voyager episodes of this season, 'Warhead' and 'Equinox.' Click here to avoid reading those spoilers.

Again, click here to avoid those spoilers and simply be transported to the next article.

Michael Iversen at the Universe received extra info from his source '007' dealing with the last two Voyager episodes. Take a look at the new plot info:

Episode 525, 'Warhead:'
The doctor's program is taken over by the mind of a "smart bomb" which tries to force Voyager to deliver it to its target. The bombs orders have been rescinded because it was launched by mistake, but it doesn't want to hear that. Then it turns out that a whole fleet of bombs are flying around loose out there as well. Once Harry convinces the bomb that the right thing to do is to stop the invasion, the bomb on Voyager flies out and blows the crap out of all the other bombs who would not listen to reason.

Episode 526, 'Equinox:'
The added scenes may add a bit of dimension to the show, but nothing that will change the story significantly. It is a cliffhanger, with one of the aliens coming right at Janeway in the last shot. Typical alien POV thing where the camera comes rushing at her and then it cuts to black.

Thanks go out to Leonard Schuurmans at Warp Eleven for pointing me to this.

Final Rating Voyager EpisodesChristian (12:06 pm CST)The Star Trek Universe has put up the final ratings for last week's new Voyager episodes, 'Juggernaut' and 'Someone To Watch Over Me.' As expected, 'Juggernaut' did absolutely disastrous, presumably because no one actually knew the episode would be airing. With a 1.7 rating it ranked no higher than Nr. 112, was of course sixth in its timeslot behind all the other networks, and did worse than any other Voyager episode. Boo, hiss, Paramount!

Fortunately, 'Someone To Watch Over Me' did a lot better:

"Someone To Watch Over Me" was the second episode, it aired at Wednesday at 9 pm, as normal Voyager episodes do. It got a 3.4 and was nr. 94, that is a bit low compared to the season average, but still much better than the Monday episode. Voyager was 6th for the hour behind WBs Charmed that got a 3.6.

Voyager wasn't UPN's highest rated show... a UPN special "WWF Smackdown!" was, it got a 4.0 and was nr. 89. It was only 0.1 lower than WBs highest-rated show, that was "7th Heaven" and "Dawson's Creek"

'Get A Life' Press ReleaseChristian (12:06 pm CST)The Continuum has put up a press release for William Shatner's upcoming book 'Get A Life.' Included in the press release is a short account of everything Shatner had to go through to collect information for his book:

For nearly two years, Shatner trekked to Star Trek conventions throughout America and Europe to uncover their mysteries. He grilled Star Trek organizers, promoters, dealers, artists, collectors, and cast-mates. He hid behind a rubber mask and had heart-to-hearts with weekend Vulcans and Klingons. He developed an eye for valuable memorabilia. He got the scoop on which "featured speakers" strive to delight audiences. And, after interviews with hundreds of fascinating - and truly likable - people, Shatner finally discovered what brings and binds Star Trek fans together.

"Just below the surface, there seems to exist a genuine and very powerful sense of family among Star Trek fans," Shatner observes. "Together they can ignore, break down and disapprove the stereotypes and punch lines that brand them as geeks. Together they can appreciate Star Trek's optimistic view of the future, and take comfort in collectively celebrating a universe where logic generally wins out, where friendships matter, where allies protect one another, where the bad guys are always a bit fallible, and where even the most grave situation can miraculously find a happy ending at the 58 minute mark." During the course of his convention marathon, Shatner also experienced the unexpected: these offbeat celebrations were a lot of fun!

The press release then goes on to mention some of the highlights of the book, and of course also provides us with info on how to buy the book. Find it all here. Thanks go out to Amazon for the above cover image. Not surprisingly, they're also selling the book.

Dan Curry Chat Transcript AvailableChristian (12:05 pm CST)The Continuum has put up the transcript of last Thursday's chat with Trek Visual Effects Producer Dan Curry, which I unfortunately forgot to mention on the day of the chat itself. Still, that didn't prevent the chat from becoming very interesting, as you can see from the below excerpt:

DennisV asks:
I'm a big ST:VOY fan from Holland and I would like to know how the viewscreens on the bridges of the Enterprise-D,E, Defiant, Voyager etc. look like on the set. Are they just black or blue, or are there real images on it?

Dan Curry:
The viewscreens on the ship are empty holes in the set. When we are at impulse, outside is a "star curtain," which is black velvet with little highly reflective chips. These create the illusion of a starfield. When there is a planet, or another ship, or some other special phenomenon outside, there is either a blue or a green screen (the choice depends on the wardrobe of the actors passing in front of the screen) the visual effects department then creates what will be seen on the viewscreen and does a composite, putting the foreground live action production footage together with the visual effects image on the screen.

When the actors have to look at a specific object on the screen, that isn't there yet we place targets outside, which are bright tape X's, to keep eye lines correct. Eye lines can also be a problem when there are conversations between people on the viewscreen and people on the bridge. So these have to be planned out very carefully to make sure that everybody is looking in the correct direction.

Phil asks:
Is using the new Borg look from First Contact on Voyager cheaper than using their old look on TNG?

Dan Curry:
The Borg ships are now done as CG models so that would certainly make the cost of doing large numbers of them cheaper, but the Borg design philosophy has remained pretty much the same. For Dark Frontier, when we visited the heart of the Borg civilization I had a vision for the design of the city. I went in to my small woodshop at home and intuitively cut small blocks of wood and bamboo BBQ skewers and dowel sticks to build a rough model indicating the design sensibility of how the various structures would relate to one another. I brought this model out to Foundation Imaging and the model makers there used that as a reference to build the huge city that was at least 600 km across.

In the rest of the transcript he talks about such things as the bat'leth (which he designed), his own personal background and some memorable Trek episodes. You can find it all by going here.

Activision Reports Fiscal 1999 ResultsChristian (12:05 pm CST)Activision, the company that recently obtained the Trek game license, has published its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year which ended March 31, 1999. As, obviously, no results from Activision's Star Trek games are yet available the results may not be that interesting for you, but they do contain a few mentions of the license. You can find it all here.

TNG RPG Developer Reviews ExpansionsChristian (12:04 pm CST)The people at AnotherUniverse's Mania Magazine just put up the latest edition of 'Out of the Box,' the weekly Role-Playing Game column by Kenneth Hite, creator of the TNG Role-Playing Game. Recently, Last Unicorn (the RPG publisher), brought out two new books for the TNG RPG, and in his column he provides us with some extra info on these books:

The First Line: Starfleet Intelligence Handbook (96 pages, $15) is very much more a "running an espionage campaign in the Star Trek TNG RPG" than it is "running Star Trek TNG espionage episodes." You get SFI overlays, general organization, and some sketches of rival intelligence organizations from the Andorian Am Tal to the Romulan Tal Shiar. There's spy tech, spy locations, and spy profiles. All by Steve Long and Rick Dakan, with a little help from their friends.

A Fragile Peace: The Neutral Zone Campaign Volume 1 (94 pages, $15) contains a brief rundown of the Neutral Zone's history and some of the major worlds therein before presenting four linked episodes centering on the nefarious Romulans. It's by a bunch of folks, among them Greg Stolze (who covered some of the sector material in the core book), Rachel Barth, Justin Schmid and Jo Walton.

Some more info on the TNG game, and the upcoming TOS RPG he's currently developing, can be found by going here.

Relativity PreviewChristian (12:04 pm CST)Mr. Video Productions has put up the trailers for next week's new Voyager episode, 'Relativity.' As usual, the preview is availabel as a 6 MB movie file, a 480k MP3 file, and as a zipped archive of images, but unfortunately none of those will help you get less confused ("Two Sevens? What's that?"). Still, you can find the preview by going here.

Interplay Has Strong E3 LineupChristian (12:04 pm CST)According to a press release from Interplay, current owner of the TOS license, the company will make a very strong showing at next week's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), which will be held Los Angeles, May 13 -- 15, 1999 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. E3 is one of the most important computer game trade shows, and Interplay say they'll be showing all their new PC games, including their three Star Trek titles currently in development (Starfleet Command, Klingon Academy and New Worlds). Take a look at what the press release has to say about Klingon Academy:

A prequel to Star Trek® VI: The Undiscovered Country(TM), Star Trek® Klingon Academy(TM) includes a star studded cast with Christopher Plummer as General Chang and David Warner as Chancellor Gorkon. Under the tutelage of Chang, you will learn battle tactics and the code of the Klingon warrior. Complete with 3-D space terrain, a Gunnery Chair and the ability to command capital ships, Klingon Academy has set a new standard in space combat. Prove yourself worthy and you may be recruited to fight with Chang in an even greater, conflict - a conflict that will decide the fate of the Klingon Empire.

The full press release contains info on most of Interplays' other games, including the two other Star Trek titles - check it out here.

Happy Birthday Marc Alaimo!Christian (12:03 pm CST)Today is the birthday of Marc Alaimo, best known for his role as Gul Dukat on Deep Space Nine, though he has also appeared in lots of other television series. Alaimo has two children, who, according to All Alaimo All The Time also celebrate their birthday today. Of course, his character of Gul Dukat will be prominently featured in the last few remaining episodes of Deep Space Nine, but after that the chances of him returning to Star Trek are small indeed. However, should you wish to thank him in an extra special way, you might want to check out the Weekend With Marc Alaimo, which is still accepting reservations.

Today on TVChristian (12:03 pm CST)-At 9:00pm, UPN will be showing the all-new Voyager episode '11:59.' Take a look at what the episode will have to offer you, according to the official Continuum:

Captain Janeway reminisces about her ancestor Shannon O'Donnel, the first of her family's long line of explorers and one who helped build the Millennium Gate on Earth. As Janeway relates the story, the episode revisits the town of Portage Creek on New Year's Eve 1999, as Shannon O'Donnel (played by Kate Mulgrew) nears the deadline to convince the town's last holdout, local bookstore owner Henry Janeway, to approve the building of massive, half a mile high Milliennium Gate, a model for the first colony on Mars.

Personally I'd say this episode could well be absolutely fantastic - it's a pity I'll have to wait another year for it to be shown here in the Netherlands. Thanks go out to Mr. Vidot for the above image, which is of course copyrighted by Paramount.

-Today at 7:00pm and at 11:00pm, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the second TOS pilot, 'Where No Man Has Gone Before.'

-In the UK, Sky One will be showing the first-season DS9 finale 'In The Hands Of The Prophets' at 17:00 and at 23:30 BST. At 18:00, the BBC will be showing TNG's 'Relics,' the episode feeaturing Scotty. Tomorrow at 17:00 and at 23:30, Sky One will be airing DS9's 'Homecoming.' Thanks go out to the Television Observation Unit of the Star Trek Collective for the BBC info.

Hello World!Christian (11:55 am CST)Allow me to make a prediction. NATO just announced it will start bombarding Northern Serbia using planes located in Hungary. That is, the same Nothern Serbia that has a sizable Hungarian minority. Would anyone like to take bets about the next target for Milosevic's ethnic cleansing?

Again, below you'll find some spoilers for the DS9 finale - click here to move on to the next update.

It appears Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski is looking for someone he can blame for his recent problems (including 'Crusade' being cancelled), and apparently he selected Paramount as his target. Take a look at the following post by Straczynski, which was posted to the rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated newsgroup, in which he talks about the DS9 Final Chapter episodes:

I haven't seen 'em...only have heard that the last DS9 ep is
pretty much the same as what we did in [the Babylon 5 finale]. Don't know that for a
fact, but the word on the street is that Sisko goes off with the
ancient ones, never to return, and the station gets blowed up.

After someone complained to him about not using spoiler warnings, he continued with the following:

Sorry, figured it couldn't be much of a spoiler since we'd
already done it on our show....

A few days later, Straczynski posted what can only be taken as a direct accusation at Paramount that they stole the DS9 series idea from him:

We began trying to sell the B5 series to everyone in
town, including Paramount, 5 years prior to getting a Go order. The B5
series was announced in early November of that year. There was NO set
ST series by that point. Over the following Christmas weekend, I got a
phone call from someone very closely involved with Trek, who said,
"They just decided what the new Trek show is going to be. It's about a
space station that's a center of commerce, with a travel gate nearby."

[Comment from one of the newsgroup posters:]"Still JMS must be quite pleased if it is a knock-off, as to copy ones
ideas is the greatest form of praise."

Let me steal your car and see if you feel the same way
afterward.

Certainly this is *very* interesting and also, IMHO, completely ridiculous - DS9 and Babylon 5 are almost nothing alike in terms of story, tone and focus. Quite probably Straczynski is frustrated about his recent 'Crusade' failure, but does that mean he should start attacking Deep Space Nine? Thanks go out to Dan Tropea for posting about this to rec.arts.startrek.current.

Do you have an opinion on this matter? If so, why not make it known to the world in this thread which was just created at the Trek BBS.

CHESS PIECE OF THE WEEK: And possibly of the entire closing arc, Kai Winn. I know some disagree, but I still think that Winn's acceptance of the Pagh Wraiths happened unnaturally quickly last week, in "Strange Bedfellows." But this week, we have Winn learning that her new paramour is really the hated Gul Dukat, and within five minutes she is back to planning the Pagh Wraiths' escape with him. I just don't think these developments are consistent with Winn's character, given the elapsed time. Sure, she loves power, but she loves the Prophets, too, and she hates Cardassians. With some more time and build-up devoted to her story (read: less Vic Fontaine, baseball, and Ezri angst earlier this year), this could be really good stuff. As it is, it's a little difficult to swallow, though interesting nonetheless.

John Cook at Sev Trek has uploaded edition 114 of the Sev Trek comic, using a very special format:

The first ANIMATED Sev Trek!!!
Thanks to the talents of Wally Field and Andrew Simpson, we present a 3D animated version of this week's Sev Trek comic strip. The voices of Quirk and Spook have been supplied by the very talented Wally Fields. The animation was supplied by the equally talented Andrew Simpson who converted my characters into 3d models and animated them in just FIVE DAYS. Both Wally, Andrew and I are very interested in hearing your thoughts on the animation so please email me your comments.

I have to say I myself wasn't really that impressed with how the movie turned out (and no, I'm not just saying that to save bandwidth ;-), although the movie does look very interesting indeed.

Official Word On 'Relativity'Christian (12:41 pm CST)NOTE: Below you'll find spoilers for the upcoming Voyager episode 'Relativity.' Click here to avoid reading those spoilers and be transported to the next article.

Jeri Ryan On BlitzlichtChristian (12:40 pm CST)The Official Jeri Lynn Ryan Homepage has put up a collection of six screencaps from yesterday's appearance by Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine) on the German television show 'Blitzlicht.' The show was taped during Jeri Ryan's appearance at the Fed Con 7 convention, so four of the screencaps actually show Ryan at the convention. You can find them by going here.

95% of the submissions we turn down simply aren't written in commercial, publishable, readable english. You need more than a word processor with a spell-and-grammar checker to be a writer, something a lot of people seem not to realize... Most of the other five percent are dumped for ignoring our guidelines. Can't tell you how many cover letters I've started reading that begin "I know this violates your guidelines but..." and I send it back at that point (why waste time reading something I can't publish?). See this Q&A list for someone who desperately wants to submit his new ship and crew to me, and isn't listening when I say that isn't possible.:)

A lot of the ones that come in that are written well enough and fit under the guidelines are bounced because the story, which might well make a fine episode or short-story, isn't big enough to carry an entire novel. Another consistent problem, even from pro writers who haven't worked for us before, is that they ignore the "stay away from continuity hooks" part of the guidelines and wind up duplicating something we already have in process (I, too, can read the encyclopedia and find some overlooked bit of continuity; what I'm looking for is someone who can bring in something NEW that still works under the guidlines).

A lot of other questions and their answers can now be found at the Q&A Board, including the news that the Greg Cox trilogy 'Assignment: Armageddon' is now a two-book series.

On BBC2, TNG continued its climb from the flop at the beginning of the month, to an audience of 2.89m, 100,000 above last week. It scored a slightly lower place though - joint 14th with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There was also slightly good news for DS9 - after two weeks out of the top 30, it finally crawled back in again at joint 29th with Ready Steady Cook, and an audience of 2.3m - almost half a million above the last two weeks'.

Over on Sky One, DS9 soared to fifth place with season finale "Tears of the Prophets" - a ranking almost as high as Thursday evening's new episodes of ER and Friends.
Overall, a much better performance than last week.

Shatner Gets A LifeChristian (12:39 pm CST)TV Guide Online has a short article up dealing with William Shatner's new book, 'Get A Life!' The article even contains a few quotes from 'Get A Life!,' which has Shatner describing the Original Series as only he could:

"I'll be the first to admit that Captain Kirk, at times, came across onscreen as a prime candidate for Prozac," writes Shatner. "I know it now, and I knew it then. However, what you've got to understand is that when you're an actor standing around in a cardboard-and-Christmas-light starship, having heated arguments with evil midgets, or giant rubber lizards, or white furry gorilla unicorns, you can never be too sure that your scripted lines won't just seem completely ridiculous.

"It often seemed to me that without all of Kirk's emotion and intensity and high-octane hand-wringing, our villains of the week might have seemed more ridiculous than frightening; the ship's crisis of the week might have seemed a lot less threatening were Kirk not up in arms."

More can be found in the full article, which also has Shatner selecting his favourite imitator. Thanks go out to the Daily Buzz for pointing me to this.

Today on TVChristian (12:39 pm CST)-Tonight, the Sci-Fi Channel will be broadcasting the first-season TOS episode 'Charlie X' at 7:00pm and at 11:0pm Eastern Time. Interesting bit of trivia - if you listen carefully, you'll be able to hear the voice of Gene Roddenberry himself, as he did a voice-over for this episode as 'ship's cook.'

-In the UK, Sky One will be showing the superb DS9 episode 'Duet' at 17:00 and at 23:30 BST. Tomorrow at those times, they'll be showing 'In The Hands Of The Prophets.'

-Tomorrow morning at 02:15 CET, German television station Sat.1 will be repeating TNG's 'Der rechtmäßige Erbe' (Rightful Heir). Tomorrow at 15:00, they'll be showing 'Riker: 2=?' (Second Chances, though I must say the German title is inventive)

Trek BBS TodayChristian (12:38 pm CST)I have to say that the Trek BBS is getting more interesting every day - I've even finally found the time to start posting again :-). Check out some of today's active topics:

-What is the best Star Trek movie? And - does the odd-number curse still apply after 'Star Trek: Insurrection?'

-The question of Voyager's possible homecoming is still a very interesting one - what do you think?

If none of the above threads interest you, that's still no problem, as there are dozens of other discussions currently taking place at the Trek BBS. And even if you don't like those, you can always start a new one! Remember, you don't even need to register - just go ahead and post!

Hello World!Christian (12:38 pm CST)It turns out that, besides me posting the 1000th TrekToday headline ever, we reached another milestone yesterday, as we had 1000 visitors for the first time ever! I'm absolutely amazed by this - when TrekToday started I never expected the site to get so popular so soon. I know a thousand visitors per day is probably nothing compared to the really big sites such as Psi Phi or TrekWeb, but for a site that didn't exist a mere two months ago I'd say it's still pretty impressive!

My sincere thanks go out to all of you who regularly visit this site - *you* are the people for who I'm doing this. An extra special thank-you should go out to all the great people who sent in some TrekToday news or who wrote in to say how much they liked the site - I truly appreciate that.

Thank you all, and let's hope we reach the 2000 visitors per day soon :-)!

The TV musical "Geppetto" is a re-telling of the classic tale Pinocchio, as seen through the eyes of the woodcarver Geppetto (Drew Carey). It was written by David Stern, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz who composed the music for several Disney animated films, including Pocahontas for which he won an Oscar.

In the musical, Spiner will be playing the part of Stromboli, the evil merchant who thinks he can use Pinocchio for his own good. More on this can be found here.

Remember, as every week, that these are completely unconfirmed, and the headlines only sound so sensational because they want to have people call an expensive pay phone number. They're provided here only for their amusement value.

Cynics Corner 'Someone' ReviewChristian (12:47 pm CST)David E. Sluss, Cynic, just put up his new Cynics Corner review for Voyager's 'Someone To Watch Over Me,' last week's new episode. Take a look at one of the problems he had with the episode:

RECYCLING OF THE WEEK: Clearly, we're getting a rehash of DS9's Kira/Odo plot. The isomorphism is only too obvious: Non-human character (Odo/Doctor) falls for a beautiful, if sometimes rude, female character (Kira/Seven) who wears absurdly tight spandex. He hasn't the guts to tell her, and so he keeps his feelings under wraps. But his secret is discovered by someone who annoys him (Quark/Paris). Too cowardly to act in person, he rehearses on the holodeck. Songs are sung. It doesn't taste any better the second time around.

More can be found in the full review, in which he awards the episode a 6.2.

Shimra: In the new CBG, issue number 1330, p. 40, it says that Peter David was
approached about doing a New Frontier comic book. Care to confirm, Padguy?

Peter David: I think that's something of an overstatement. They dropped me an e-mail asking
about my interest in possibly doing a one-shot or a limited series. I asked
them if they intended it to be an original story or an adaptation of one of the
novels. They never replied. Beginning, middle, end of my communication on it.

Being a rather large fan of the New Frontier book series, I sent of a mail to Jeff Mariotte (Trek comics editor at WildStorm), and this is what he had to say:

Yes, I heard about this. In fact, I responded to Peter's email the day I got
it, and never heard back from him or got an error message saying that the
email hadn't been delivered. When I got this, I re-sent that email to Peter
and am waiting for a reply. We certainly didn't intentionally blow him off,
and are interested in exploring NF.

Apparently this was just a misunderstanding, and hopefully WildStorm will still be able to work something out with David.

Trek Fans Internet AlertChristian (12:22 pm CST)The Continuum has posted a letter from Jonathan Frakes (William T. Riker), in which he 'expresses his concerns of fraudulent use of names and general misrepresentation by people posing as Star Trek actors.' Take a look at the text of the letter:

Dear Friends;

Recently it has come to my attention that there is someone on line who is impersonating me. I would like to clear up this matter by stating it is in fact, not me. I do not even have an internet account and if you know anyone who thinks it is me, please advise them they should not believe this person. I am sorry if this person has inconvenienced any of you in any way. Thank you.

Jonathan Frakes

Continuum producer Guy Vardaman then goes on to add his own personal thoughts to the debate, and gives some tips on how to spot impersonators. You can find the full news story by going here.

Of course, this isn't to say that all celebrities posting online are automatically impersonators (even though most of them obviouslyare). For instance, several weeks ago René Auberjonois was posting at the Psi Phi message boards, while Nicole DeBoer also used to be posting here, which was quite interesting. Also, several members of the creative and productive staff have been known to post at Usenet, which is usually also informative. Let's hope more celebrities decide to join them...

Tim Lynch Reviews 'Changing Face'Christian (12:21 pm CST)It appears most reviewers really like the latest Final Chapter episodes, and Tim Lynch is no exception with his latest review of 'The Changing Face Of Evil:'

No matter what one thinks of "The Changing Face of Evil", I don't think anyone can get away with saying its events were inconsequential. In a single episode, we get to see major religious goings-on on Bajor with Winn and Dukat, huge political goings-on within the Dominion, and a battle with some fairly decisive consequences. You may say that the events in question are moving too fast or that they're ill-chosen (for the most part, I wouldn't), but I don't see any way for people to look upon all of this as meaningless.

In the full review he awards the episode a 9. You can find it all here.

Viacom Reports 1st Quarter EarningsChristian (12:20 pm CST)For the past few weeks now, I've constantly been checking the Viacom site, and just when I forget doing that for a few days, they post their Quarterly Earnings report for the first quarter of this year :-(. News was good, for Viacom shareholders:

New York, New York, April 27, 1999 -- Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) today reported increased revenues; higher earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA"); higher operating income; and a 44% increase in net earnings from continuing operations for the first quarter of 1999. These results were led by strong double-digit gains at MTV Networks.

For the first quarter ended March 31, 1999, net earnings from continuing operations rose to $68 million, or $.08 per basic and diluted common share, compared with net earnings from continuing operations of $48 million, or $.05 per basic and diluted common share, in the same year-earlier period. Viacom reported net earnings attributable to common stock of $33 million, or $.05 per basic and diluted common share, versus a net loss attributable to common stock of $14 million, or a loss of $.02 per basic and diluted common share, in 1998.

Viacom posted higher revenues of $3.0 billion, increased EBITDA of $475 million and higher operating income of $278 million. In the first quarter of 1998, Viacom posted revenues of $2.7 billion, EBITDA of $460 million and operating income of $273 million.

Not surprisingly, their daughter station UPN isn't mentioned anywhere in the report - certainly it isn't helping Viacom's profitablity :-). In case your interested, the stock markets didn't really react favourably to the results - in a generally upbeat market, Viacom shares dropped from about $47 a week ago to $42 today. You can find the full report by going here.

New 'Changing Face Of Evil' ClipChristian (12:19 pm CST)NOTE: Below you'll find the one very major spoiler for DS9's 'The Changing Face Of Evil.' Though most of you probably already saw this episode, if you did not, you should click here to avoid a major spoiler.

SCIFI Headquarters has put up a 'Death of the Defiant' video clip, showing the end of the first-ever Defiant-class starship the way it happened in 'The Changing Face Of Evil.' Besides that, the site also has 8 new clips from 'Strange Bedfellows' and 3 new clips from 'Til Death Do Us Part' available. I'm not sure about the legality of all this, but for now you can find the Defiant clip here and the other clips here.

I generally enjoyed this episode. I liked the more textured look at the Malon. I don't like them much more than I used to, but I am glad to see that there's more to Malon society than bringing down neighborhood property values. I had some sympathy for Fesek and his friend with the toy. it would have been intriguing to see a bit of Malon Prime, maybe a snapshot of the family. It must be some place if someone would shorten their life and leave that paradise to preserve. Who knows--maybe one of these days they'll encounter a Malon in a position to change thigns.

In the end, he awards the episode 3 out of 4 stars, helped by guest reviewer Heather Jarman. You can find the full review (including the usual enourmous synopsis) by going here.

'The Changing Face Of Evil' CreditsChristian (12:18 pm CST)David Henderson at Psi Phi has put up the full credit list for 'The Changing Face Of Evil,' last week's new Deep Space Nine episode. As always, in the list you can find the names of all the guest stars, the creative staff and the production crew, quite probably as the only such list on the net. You can find it here.

This certainly is a wonderful iniative - and the only thing you have to do is register for the official Scarlett Pomers list! Full details can be found by going here.

Fed Con 7 ReportChristian (12:15 pm CST)Michael at the Star Trek Universe has just put up his first report from Fed Con 7, this weekend's German Trek convention. The report contains some very good news about Voyager's future:

Both Robert Duncan McNeill and Jeri Ryan said that Voyager WILL go for a 7th season. Robbie (Thats what everybody calls him) said that he will do a 7th season, and even if they would do 10 or 15 seasons, then he would still sign on to do them. :-)

Jeri Ryan said that her contract expires after the 6th season, but she will sign on to a 7th season if the writers countinue to write Seven as good as they do now.

Hopefully this also means the rumour that Kate Mulgrew and Jeri Ryan want to leave is just that - a rumour. In any case, some more info (including the news that Tom Paris will soon get his old rank of lieutenant back, and two photos from the convention) can be found by going here.

Today on TVChristian (12:15 pm CST)-The Sci-Fi Channel begins its third run of the Original Series with the showing of 'The Man Trap' at 7:00pm and at 11:00pm Eastern Time.

-In the UK, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Dramatis Personae' at 17:00 and at 23:30 CET.

-In Germany, Sat.1 will be repeating TNG's 'Verdächtigungen' (Suspicions) tomorrow at 00:05 CET. At 15:00 tomorrow, they'll be showing TNG's 'Der rechtmäßige Erbe' (Rightful Heir). SPECIAL NOTE: *Today*, at 18:55 CET, on the 'Blitzlicht' show, Sat.1 will be airing an interview with Jeri Ryan, which was filmed during the Fed Con 7 convention. Thanks go out to the Official Jeri Lynn Ryan Homepage for this.

-Why did they blow up the Enterprise-D? And which ship is better - the Ent-D or the Ent-E? Let us know here.

-What should happen with a future Trek series? And who should helm it?

Several other threads are still active, so I'd advise you to visit the BBS itself to find out about that! Also, we'd absolutely love it if you'd share your ideas with us as well - remember, you don't even need to register to post!

New at TrekSeek.comChristian (12:14 pm CST)On Sunday we another 3 sites were added to the TrekSeek database, bringing us to a total of 1055 Star Trek links. Take a look at a some of those new sites:

-Lashr's Action Figures and Toys is your place for links to various toy and action figure companies and pages. The site has links to various Star Trek and Playmate related toy sites as well as several other lines.

-Star Trek: U.S.S. Firedrake. The flagship of Task Force Golden Sword, a small, but powerful ship, about to make history in the Star Trek universe... don't you want to be there? Join the crew of the USS Firedrake, and create an entire fictional exsistance by the push of a button!

Hello World!Christian (12:14 pm CST)Wow, for the first time in several days I actually have enough time to post all the news available! It's a miracle :-)!

[Update 19:40 CET:]I just noticed that today's 'Trek BBS Today' item is the 1000th TrekToday headline since the site started. That means that, over the past two months, TrekToday's had an average of about 14 headlines per day!

Sunday May 2, 1999

Assorted Insider Info BitsChristian (3:02 pm CST)I'm very happy to report that I've had a visit from my first insider named Atavachron. Needless to say, I'm more than excited about it (and flattered), and I'm looking
forward to a long relationship with him. As he put it: 'Please no plots, script leaks or cast rumors', since he is not interested in this (he rarely even watches the episodes because of work conflicts or the fact that he doesn't like the writing) . Partly because of this, partly because he respects the creative staff so much, he will on occasion be providing non-plot info, technical stuff and some history, but even that is very interesting. He's also started posting at the Trek BBS, so you might want to check that out as well!

- It's been heard that the Voyager crew are talking to some of the writers who previously worked on DS9.

[UPDATE 14:10 CET Tuesday:]I stand corrected, the below came in from another web site and NOT Atavachron. I apologize for any misleading information. As he restated to me: "I don't go there" as well as some of the other information I misquoted. I got a ton of Email, I'm behind in it and I ran some of the information together.

-The rumour that is currently making the rounds is that Kate Mulgrew and Jeri Ryan want off the show. Treat this as you would any rumour.

-Lastly, It seems that we may well be seeing
another Defiant class ship since the Defiant sets were put into storage in good shape. as was noted to me:

The sets were taken down without any sign of serious battle damage. For example when the Defiant segments from First Contact were filmed (The battle with the Borg), the sets were
refurbished afterwards. The stickers peel up, the carpets take a beating since
they're not made to take what they put the sets through during one of these sequences. The single main example of this is when the Enterprise-D crashed in 'Generations.' What you saw on screen was what they did to the sets. What little was salvaged from the bridge was later refurbished and sent to a museum in LA. This included the famous 'Arch' (which is not the one nice piece of wood that people think it is).

I'll be posting more on this as I get to hear it from Atavachron.

Meanwhile, Atavachron is also posting at the Trek BBS - I suggest you check his posts out, they're really very interesting. Please remember, though, that some of this should still be
considered as unconfirmed rumours, as Atavachron himself will also say. Things change constantly
with any normal TV production.

Starfleet Journal Celebrates AnniversaryChristian (3:01 pm CST)The May issue of the Starfleet Journal, the only (?) monthly Trek magazine exclusively available on the World Wide Web, has just appeared and it's a very special issue indeed, as they're celebrating their first anniversary! Take a look at what this issue has in store for you:

Well, we've reached a milestone, it's our first birthday! To celebrate we're bringing you an extra special report on the Grandslam convention courtesy of the Voyager Virgin, check it out by clicking here.

We also have a new columnist, Cerise Robinson, with her Children of Time column. Check out the columns section for more information. Enjoy!

You can find the new issue by going here, thanks go out to the (still wonderful) Heather Jarman for pointing me to this.

Furthermore, the site is reporting that the "Mirror, Mirror" Sulu and Marlena Exclusives are now available at Kay-Bee Toys, and that the Star Trek fan club now has a stock number available for the 12" Captain Sisko figure. Find more here.

'Tacking Into The Wind' TrailersChristian (3:00 pm CST)Star Trek Interactive! has put up the trailers for 'Tacking Into The Wind,' one of the upcoming DS9 Final Chapter episodes. As usual, the trailers are available as both MPEG and ASF video clips, but also as MP3 audio clips or as a collection of images. You can find the trailers by going here, and I'm sure they'll also be appearing within a few hours at Mr. Video Productions, if you want to wait for trailers with a somewhat higher image quality.

Alien heavies, particularly the Borg, have menaced Earth itself on occasion on previous Star Trek series (not to mention DS9's "Homefront" two-parter), but never have we seen Terra take a hit like we do in The Changing Face of Evil. The shot of Starfleet in rubble and the Golden Gate bridge cut in two may be remembered as the Star Trek franchise's ID4 shot, the equivalent of the exploding White House or Empire State Building from Independence Day. And a single image like that one has more dramatic weight than any talk of casualty reports. It also helps give the Breen credibility as players among Star Trek villains. Up until recently, their mysteriousness had struck me as a kind of inside joke -- like the way we never see Morn speak, although he's apparently quite voluble off-camera. The main thing we know about the Breen is that we don't know much about them, although occasionally someone would coin a "saying" like Never turn your back on a Breen.

Trek BBS TodayChristian (2:59 pm CST)Even if you never visited the Trek BBS before, you might want to do so now, as we've got a very interesting new member - Atavachron, insider at Paramount! He's been posting some fascinating notes telling us about what is *really* going on at Paramount, and I'm sure you don't want to miss that! Take a look at some of the very interesting threads where he has already joined in:

-What is the status of the Defiant? How do the sets currently look? And also a few hints about what might be the 'next' ship for Captain Sisko, after the events that took place in 'The Changing Face Of Evil.'

-What are the chances for a new series? And why won't this be based on Captain April / Starfleet Academy? Find it all here.

-Is Voyager really the 'lesser' Trek? And who is to blame for that? Let us know here.

Of course, many other topics are currently being discussed at the Trek BBS, and, of course, you can always add new topics to those discussions!

All the other new sites that were added yesterday can be found by going here.

Hello World!Christian (2:59 pm CST)Sorry for not mentioning this yesterday, but I was way for most of today because of a family event. I'm also really in a hurry right now, which is a pity, as I have some very interesting news. Lots more news will be posted here tomorrow - unfortunately I simply didn't have the time today :-(.

Saturday May 1, 1999

Continuum Reviews Grand SlamChristian (1:16 pm CST)The Continuum has put up a short report dealing with the Grand Slam convention, which took place last weekend in the Pasadena Convention Center. Not many new things are mentioned in the report (though it does confirm DeForest Kelley's hospitalization), but you still might want to check it out.

Featuring a flurry of excitement, "The Changing Face of Evil" is a riveting, carefully crafted balance of all the elements we've had over the past three weeks and before that. As DS9 plots go, it's probably the most viscerally engaging edge-of-seat experience this season.

There's a sense that although "Penumbra," "'Til Death Do Us Part," and "Strange Bedfellows" were all solid, interesting, forward-progressing shows, they were somehow lacking something necessary to elevate them to greatness--something "The Changing Face of Evil" clearly has. That element, I think, is emotional release. It's fun to be set up, teetering on the edge of payoff. But at the same time it's in some ways unsettling and frustrating. The payoff is where the crux of satisfaction lies.

"Changing Face" is like the proverbial roller-coaster ride--a skillful tap into a variety of feelings, mainly fear, exhilaration, and anticipation. If "Strange Bedfellows" was the piece that revealed to the audience how characters were committing to new directions, "Changing Face" is the piece where those characters reveal that commitment to other characters.

In the end, he awards the episode four out of a possible four stars, as you can read for yourself in the full review.

Jeri Ryan Grand Slam PhotosChristian (12:42 pm CST)
The Official Jeri Lynn Ryan Homepage just posted 45 images from Jeri Ryan's recent appearance at the Grand Slam VII convention. On the pictures, you'll mostly be able to see Jeri Ryan smiling to the audience or signing autographs, though a few full-cast pictures are also available (such as the one I reprinted here.) You can find the images by going here.

Trek Books To Be Published OnlineChristian (12:41 pm CST)They aren't yet being published as PADDs, but it is coming close, as Pocket Books editor John Ordover just announced on his Q&A board they will start publishing Star Trek books on the internet. Take a look at the exact quote:

Query from: Rick
Alright, maybe this is a stupid question, or maybe it's a question for a different guy.... but with "electronic books" getting some hype recently, has there been any thought put into developing something like this for the ST franchise? Most fans are more techno-centric than most.... I bet they'd eat up something cutting edge like web-published novels. And the possibilities of the medium are endless, combining written word, audio, and animation. Plus, it's the sort of thing that once you develop the delivery mechanism, there's only limited additional overhead (no printing, paper, etc.) for each subsequent release. I think it could work, but then again, I'm not the one who'd have to throw in a couple hundred grand to make it happen!

Response from: John Ordover
We're going to try this, on a limited basis, with some of our backlist titles. I'll let you know when and how when I know. Thing is, as you point out, "Most fans are more techno-centric than most" and that means a far greater chance that some high-level hacker fan will crack whatever security we put in place and start distributing Treknovels for free on the Internet (just as the script to the Trek movies magicly appear on-line). So we're going to step into this arena cautiously and see what happens.

Personally I'm not sure if this will really be succesfull - reading books on a computer screen just isn't comfortable enough. Meanwhile, Ordover also answered a few other fan questions - you can find them here.

You're either going to love this idea or hate it. Stephen Chao, programming president for USA Networks (which also owns the Sci-Fi Channel) has decided to try something a bit different for next season. Instead of doing the standard new show every hour or half-hour, he's decided to see if people are willing to watch the same program in long, extended blocks.

Starting Sept. 27, every Monday night is The Outer Limits night, where episodes of the show will run from 7-11 PM. Likewise, Tuesday nights will belong to Sliders, also running 7-11. It's a smart move, considering that these are two of the Sci-Fi Channel's strongest programs, and that most of its other programming (besides Sci-Fi 2.0) is pretty much space filler.

Unfortunately, what it could also mean is the death stab for Star Trek, which is currently being shown at 7:00pm on the Sci-Fi Channel. Furthermore, the full article mentions the channel will be developing several new series, so I have to wonder where this leaves Trek. I'll report more on this as I get to hear it, but for now you might want to check out the actual article at the Daily Sci-Fi.

Q.As for Multiplayer, will there be a co-op mode?
A .In MP you may play single missions in any form of co-op, or team structures you like. As far as playing the SP campaign as a "co-opy" MP, no. Our stories are designed around the single player star and do not lend themselves to coop play like a party based RPG such as Baldurs Gate.

Q. As for expansions, is there anything in the works right now. I understand that this might be a hard one seeing is how the demo isn't available... thought that I would ask :)
A. We would have to refer you to the Magic 8-Ball: It says "Answer Hazy, Ask Again Later."

Paramount has finally copped to plans to open Roger Nygard's documentary Trekkies in 140 cities on May 21, two days after the Phantom Menace opening. I had in my April 8 column that Paramount had decided on a Trekkies opening that would happen right around the Phantom one. A Paramount spokesperson said at the time that "nothing has been decided." I guess they wanted to let the news out their own way.

The first space-based real-time strategy game set in the Star Trek: The Next Generation universe, Star Trek Armada lets players command Federation, Romulan, Klingon and Borg fleets as a massive Borg invasion unfolds. Players assume command of up to 30 starships, space stations and repair facilities and play all four fleets in order to complete the single-player campaign. Players must navigate around wormholes, asteroids and nebulae as they engage in the ultimate showdown. Star Trek Armada is being developed and published by Activision.

The full preview also contains the first picture ever of the 'Star Trek: Insurrection' game, and some more info on the upcoming Voyager game (which is now called 'Voyager Hazard Team.') You can find it all here, and major thanks go out to Wayne T. St.Onge for pointing me to this.

Today on TVChristian (12:39 pm CST)-At 16:00 BST, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'If Wishes Were Horses,' followed an hour later by Voyager's 'Persistence of Vision.' Tomorrow they'll be showing DS9's 'The Forsaken' at 16:00 and Voyager's 'Tatto' at 17:00.

-Here in the Netherlands, the AVRO will be showing Voyager's 'The Killing Game, Part Two' at 18:38 CET.

Trek BBS TodayChristian (12:39 pm CST)Yesterday, the Trek BBS did indeed welcome its 100th registered member, and that after a mere two weeks of operation. Take a look at some of the current topics currently being discussed by those members:

-What will happen in the final scene of 'What You Leave Behind,' the DS9 finale? And, what do you think about the suggested possibilities?

-Why does the Star Trek family HAVE to wait 5 to 10 years for the next series? Board regular WIBoomer1 gives us his reasons, and you can let the world know what you think about this.

Lots of other discussions can be found by going here - and please feel free to add your own thoughts to the discussions. Remeber, registration isn't even required - just go ahead and post!

New at TrekSeek.comChristian (12:39 pm CST)Yet another 7 sites were added to TrekSeek yesterday, bringing us to a total of 1046 Star Trek links. Take a look at three of those new sites:

-Alien Faces lists all alien species, from all Star Trek series. Also contains movies, bios, Ladies of Trek, and many images.

-Fan-Fic site Star Trek: Resurrection lets you join Captain Jody Hammerhand and the crew of the Resurrection-class cruiser Death's Head on their many adventures.

-Star Trek Chat Room 2 is a Star Trek chat room. Come to chat with other Trek fans on anything to do with Star Trek!

Hello World!Christian (12:38 pm CST)Today I was watching the MTV Europe Roxette weekend I mentioned a few days ago. Besides reminding me why I don't usually watch the station myself (countless number of mindless advertisements, almost no Roxette songs in what is supposed to be a weekend completely dedicated to them), I noticed something very interesting - 'Insurrection' commercials! Yes, that's right, months after the movie has ended its run in most countries, Paramount is still paying lots of money for Insurrection commercials - I saw two of them during the two hours I was watching! Why in heaven's name would Paramount be doing this? Surely that money could be better spent elsewhere (for instance, on more DS9 commercials)? I guess that company will never cease to amaze me...

Friday April 30, 1999

New 'Extreme Measures' SpoilersChristian (2:35 pm CST)NOTE: This update contains major spoilers for DS9's 'Extreme Measures,' as the somewhat smarter readers may have already deduced from the title. Click here to move on to the next update.

KJB, webmaster of Backstage Pass ('Your Ticket To Entertainment'), sent me another mail about 'Extreme Measures,' one of the upcoming Final Chapter episodes. As we already reported earlier, this is the Bashir/O'Brien episode in which they are looking for a cure for the Founder disease. In order to do this, they lure Section 31 director Sloane to the station, who later dies under circumstances which are as yet unknown. However, now some extra info is available on what the episode will contain:

Apparently, in the episode O'Brien and
Bashir will have to go inside Sloane's mind to extract the cure for the Founder disease before Sloane dies.

The deadline for entering
the 1999 Rules of Netquisition contest is midnight, May 1/2, CDT
(that's 5:00am May 2 GMT), and voting will begin next Monday,
May 3.

More info on the Rules of Netquisition, in which you can come up with your own Rules and win wonderful prizes with them, can be found here.

Transwarp Issue 61 AppearsChristian (2:10 pm CST)Seth Dilday has sent out issue 61 of Transwarp, the newsletter which used to be weekly. As always, the newsletter contains info on all the upcoming episodes, it reprints the most important articles that appeared on the net over the past few weeks, and it has the special 'Star Trek Fun' section. Of course, this also contains the special Star Trek poll:

This week's poll question:
Do you think that Voyager is as developed as The Next Generation was at this point in the series?

Send your responses to polls@transwarp.stwww.com with "Yes" or "No" in the subject line. The number of responses either way will be posted in the next issue.
Last question's answers:
Do you think that Star Trek Deep Space Nine has tied up all of it's loose ends?

Psi Phi Transcribes TrailersChristian (1:53 pm CST)David Henderson at Psi Phi has put up the transcripts of the promos for 'The Changing Face Of Evil' and 'When It Rains,' the two latest DS9 episodes. The transcrips tell you everything that happens in the promos, from the voice-overs to the dramatic special effects, so they're probably a good choice for you if you haven't yet downloaded the actual trailers. You can find the transcript for 'The Changing Face Of Evil' promo here, and the transcript for 'When It Rains' here.

Voyager To Come Home?Christian (1:06 pm CST)For the very first time ever, Voyager executive producer Brannon Braga has said that Voyager may actually be coming home next season - maybe as soon as the season opener! Take a look at part of an interview Eon just posted:

"There are no plans to bring Voyager home now," Braga says. "The season finale will not do that. It's the first time we've said that. I don't think that's a secret at this point. Maybe in the first episode of next season."

Braga admits though that the last episode of this season: "Does have to do with Earth, and humans. There will be some changes next season, but no casting changes."

Those casting changes might actually still happen, but they would be cast additions, of a very interesting sort:

Much like Worf came over from NEXT GENERATION to aid DEEP SPACE NINE midway through its run, now that DS9 is ending does this mean we might be seeing any of those characters transporting to the VOYAGER world? "It's possible," hints Braga. "We've talked about it."

This certainly is interesting, and I'm amazed that Braga would talk so openly about it. More can be found here.

Also, if you want to talk about this, a new thread about this has just been created at the Trek BBS - you can find it here.

LeVar Burton Writes First FeatureChristian (1:06 pm CST)According to a report from Variety, LeVar Burton (Geordi LaForge) is currently co-writing his first feature, 'Masters of the East,' which he also hopes to direct:

He is developing the project with Julia Roberson, his partner in Eagle Nation Films, which has reupped for two years its production deal with Paramount and added a television component to the agreement.

``It's based on the journals of a U.S.-born scientist named Baird Spalding who traveled the Far East extensively and wrote six journals chronicling the experiences of the ascendent masters of those regions,'' Burton said. ``It's the basis for a modern-day action adventure with romance, tied to events that happened at the turn of the century.''

Running A Trek CCG TournamentChristian (1:05 pm CST)Decipher, the company behind the Star Trek Customizable Card Game, just put up an article written by experienced CCG tournament director Neil Kirby, in which he gives some hints on how to successfully run a tournament. The article gives hints on what you should do in preparation of the event, how you should run the event and some frequently encountered problems, and if you're planning to run a CCG tournament soon, you should probably read it. You can find it by going here.

"Someone to Watch Over Me" saw Voyager return to form after the disaster that was "Juggernaut," rising to a 5.5 rating, 8 share. That's up an enormous 40% from "Juggernaut" and should place this episode in a good position to earn a national rating very close to last year's "Living Witness," which earned a 3.9.

Even better are the ratings for two Deep Space Nine episodes, namely the repeat of 'The Siege of AR-558' and the first showing of 'Penumbra,' the very first Final Chapter episode. Let's begin with the ratings for 'The Siege:'

"The Siege of AR-558" rose some over past weeks, ascending to one of the highest rerun ratings this year, earning a 3.8 rating. That places it above all but two reruns from earlier this year and brings a good starting audience into "The Final Chapter." That rating is up 5% over last week's "Once More Unto the Breach," but cannot be compared to last year's episode this week which was a first-run show.

DS9 also finished first among the syndicated dramas this week, all of which were in reruns. Xena was close behind with a 3.7 and Hercules trailed in third with a 3.3. It is of note that this rerun for DS9 equaled the mark set by Hercules in a firstrun last week.

The news gets absolutely fantastic for 'Penumbra:'

The Final Chapter is here, and the ratings to start it all off look good. "Penumbra" earned a 4.4 rating, the highest mark for DS9 since "The Emperor's New Cloak" and above the season average this year. It was also up 16% from last week's rerun of "The Siege of AR-558." Unfortunately, the episode still failed to hit the year-ago mark of a 4.7 set by "Inquisition."

[...]

This definately bodes well for the entire "Final Chapter" of DS9. This series of upcoming episodes shouldn't see any drop-off. With any luck, things should keep heading up from here. No doubt, the rating was increased a bit by the increased advertising that Paramount pumped into this series of shows -- something they should have been doing all along. In all, this is a very promising start and quite good on its own.

Let's hope the ratings will continue to climb - certainly this is something the Paramount executives will look at when deciding if there will be a new series or not. For more, check out the full reports for Someone To Watch Over Me, The Siege of AR-558 and Penumbra.

Patrick Stewart An X-Man?Christian (1:04 pm CST)Eon is reporting that Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) has committed to play the part of Professor Charles Xavier in the upcoming 'X-Men' movie. The movie, which is helmed by director Bryan Singer, will start filming this Summer, and should be released in the Summer of 2000. Find more here.

John Gregory Betancourt InterviewedChristian (1:03 pm CST)Michelle Erica Green at Mania just put up an all-new interview with John Gregory Betancourt, author of several Star Trek novels. In the interview, he talks about his past work (both in- and outside of Trek), and also talks a little bit about one of his upcoming novels:

Recently Betancourt finished the launch book in Pocket Books' Double Helix series, a six-book collection in which "a Very Bad Guy" experiments with a futuristic form of germ warfare, necessitating that the Enterprise "stop the panic and cure the disease." The second book will be penned by Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch, the third by Diane Carey.

The arc of Double Helix - conceived by Pocket Books editor John Ordover and popular series writer Michael Jan Friedman - plays out over six years, with the initial book set between the second and third episodes of The Next Generation. "I had a lot of fun sending Yar and Data on a mission right after their first - ah - tryst [from "The Naked Now"] and playing games with problems in the early episodes, like Deanna Troi calling Riker 'Bill' instead of 'Will' at one point," Betancourt notes.

After that, he goes on to talk about his upcoming 'Hercules' tie-in novels, and he ends with a few comments about his web site. You can find the full interview by going here.

DS9 Wrap Party ArticleChristian (1:02 pm CST)The excessively wonderful people at Eon Magazine just put up a rather lengthy article dealing with the DS9 wrap party. The article features comments by practically every cast member, including a few comments by Armin Shimerman:

"It's very bittersweet," Shimerman says. "I must say when the Quark head came off for the last time the other night, I yelled 'I'm free, I'm free,' but also there was a little voice in the back of my head, a little Quark voice, that said 'don't kill me, don't kill me.' I'm very sorry to see him go. He pushed the envelope. I don't think there's much more I could do as Quark, except get laid. I don't think there was much more that could be done."

Jokes aside, between the lines Shimerman may not be as satisfied as he could be.

"Not to give anything away," he adds, " but I was rather pleased with what happened with Quark, but not necessarily in the last finale. What happened there is a secret, but really what happened prior to that is really quite fascinating. What our finale is – it's really not the last two hours, but the last ten episodes, so you have to group them together."

Of course, all the other cast members have their say, and we even get a small hint of what the finale's final scene will be:

"It was hard," [Nana Visitor] says. "Oh my god. It was hard. James Darren [Vic Fontaine] comes up to me, and I'm off camera, and he's singing his song doing his close up, and I'm trying to hang on for him but I just lost it. I'm weeping. I lost it a couple of times. It's very emotional. It was hard to realize it was all over."

You can find the full report by going here - it's really very interesting, though you should be careful not to end up weeping yourself by the time you've finished it.

'Equinox' A CliffhangerChristian (1:01 pm CST)It's official now - 'Equinox,' this season's final episode for Voyager, will be a cliffhanger, to be continued next season, according to a report at Yahoo:

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - John Savage has signed to star in both ``The Captain on the Starfleet,'' a two-part episode of ``Star Trek: Voyager'' on UPN. [...] Savage's ``Trek'' appearances will include the season's cliff-hanger finale and next season's opener.

Quite probably Variety slightly misunderstood this, as Savage will be starring *as* a Starfleet captain, not in a show with that title. If you want to see the original report, it can be found here.

Eon Visits Grand Slam VIIChristian (1:00 pm CST)Albert L. Ortega at Eon Magazine, who seem to be running a Star Trek marathon at the moment, just put up his report of the Grand Slam VII convention, which took place last weekend. The report even contains some new info on Brent Spiner's proposed TNG project:

Everyone's favorite android Data took center stage being as playful as ever. He thanked everyone a countless number of times for allowing him to return once again to the convention circuit. He spoke of his current projects and his proposal to do a non-STAR TREK project with the TNG cast--however it wouldn't fly over at Paramount. He also hinted that Dr. Okuna was not dead and Dean Devlin would bring him back in the ID4 sequel.

The full report contains lots more, including several dozen pictures - check it out here.

I have been in contact with several friends who know both De and Carolyn Kelley very well. One of them is a very long time friend of the woman who was the president of De's Official Fan Club and who still maintains very regular contact with De and Carolyn.
She is the primary "source" for this info.....and considering her close friendship with De and his wife, I would call her a reliable source. She has been to the hospital several times to see De and his wife.

De is currently in the hospital. He went in three weeks ago for surgery on his colon....again. If you recall, he suffered from a collapsed colon approximately ten years ago, and he had surgery to correct it at that time. Obviously it has re-occurred.
De is in the same hospital as his wife Carolyn and they are currently in rooms right next to each other.

Now for the "bad" news. De IS and has been being treated for emphezema and cancer. No doubt caused by his very heavy smoking for over 50 years. He has apparently had the emphezema for several years now.....the cancer was just diagnosed approximately 8 months ago. Due to these two conditions and their treatments....coupled with the recent surgery, and his age, De's weight has dropped to approximately 100 pounds. My source said the hospital won't
release him because currently he is incapable of taking care of himself if released on his own.

Please keep a good thought for De, as well as his wife, Carolyn. And remember them both in your prayers if you are so inclined to pray. And let's also honor their privacy by not drowning them with mail etc. at this time. I'm sure that they both know just how much the fans wish them well. It's just that they can't handle a huge load of mail at this time.

Later on, that source visited him in the hospital, and she said he was in 'extremely bad shape.' Slight more on this can be found here, and he'll certainly be in my thoughts - let's hope he gets well soon.

FINAL FRONTIER's story could have been compelling if not for the serious lapses in direction that Shatner and his writing partners make. After the breakout success of the comedic VOYAGE HOME, the filmmakers here decided that comedy was the way to go. Unfortunately, whereas VOYAGE HOME's humor was derived largely from the juxtaposition of our futuristic heroes having to deal with modern day Earth, FINAL FRONTIER looks for its laughs in less honorable places, treating Kirk's crew like a bunch of incompetents. Chief Engineer Scotty bumps his head on a bulkhead like one of the Three Stooges, Chekov and Sulu (the navigator and helmsman of the Enterprise) get lost in the woods, and middle-aged Uhura does some weird dance in the nude. Ugh.

Trek BBS TodayChristian (12:58 pm CST)The Trek BBS now has 98 registered members - I wonder who'll be number 100. Of course, even with less than hundred members, lots of interesting discussions are still taking place, including:

-Did you see 'The Changing Face Of Evil?' What did you think about it?

-Which of the rumours about Jeri Ryan and her character, Seven of Nine, are true? You can talk about that here.

And, of course, you can talk about lots of other things at the Trek BBS - remember, no registration is required!

First of all, several people sent me mail about my remarks regarding cricket yesterday ("The Most Boring Game In The World, which, not surprisingly, was invented by the English.") To my great regret, I forgot to add a smiley to that sentence, as, of course, my intention never was to insult the English. I do, however, think cricket is *extremely* boring - any game which has matches lasting five full days should be considered boring, in my opinion. Furthermore, all the other sports I consider extremely boring were either invented by the English, or are shown on the BBC *instead* of Voyager, which explains the 'invented by the English' part. My actual remarks, however, were primarily intended as a good-natured joke at the expense of my (English) co-webmaster Saleel Majeed, who is actually a rather large cricket fan (I'm ashamed to admit ;-), which is something we were talking about just the other day. In short, I hope most of you realized I never intended to offend anyone, and, if I did, I'm truly sorry.

Secondly, I'd like to urge everyone to visit Eon Magazine now - they're fantastic! Today, they're responsible for no less than 5 TrekToday news stories (count 'em!) and I really love them for that.

Lastly, today is Queen's Day here in the Netherlands, the day on which we celebrate the birthday of our queen, Beatrix of Orange. This year, it's an extra special Queen's Day, as it's also the 90th birthday of Juliana, the Queen Mother, who is even more loved than Beatrix. Of course, it was a really nice day today, as usual, and personally I think it's one of the nicest events we have here!

This episode, at least the Breen side of things, is built on (to borrow the Star Wars theme) a phantom menace. The Breen have emerged out of the blue as this unknown, but very powerful force. They have allied themselves with the Dominion (which in itself, I don't really object too, the Dominion has previously allied with the Orion Syndicate--last year's Honor Among Thieves).

But now they are depicted as this powerful and mysterious force without knowing too much. The Founder leader remarks upon the victory as Weyoun wants to tell Thot Gor congratulations: "I have no idea what would please the Breen--nor do I care." Martok and Sisko note that all we know is the Breen is a "Race of Warriors"--but every species has its weakness, they just have to find it. Of course there is the Energy Disappators--a super-weapon that can devestate a fleet in a shot--it comes from nowhere. Even the attack on Earth, sure it strikes fear in the heart of the Federation, came out of the blue. I don't know if the Dominion really needed this phantom steroid to put them in a broader position of power.

We've been in the Alpha quadrant for 12 years now--and NOTHING that makes the Breen seem this ominious...I don't buy it.

In the full review, Twitt goes on to find several more problems with the episode, and in the end he awards the episode a B-. Find it all here. Thanks go out to Psi Phi for pointing me to this.

David Henderson at Psi Phi has put up the official Paramount press release for next week's Voyager episode, '11:59.' As usual, this also includes a short synopsis of the episode:

Captain Janeway reminisces about her ancestor Shannon O'Donnel, the first of her family's long line of explorers and one who helped build the Millennium Gate on Earth. As Janeway relates the story, the episode revisits the town of Portage Creek on New Year's Eve 1999, as Shannon O'Donnel (played by Kate Mulgrew) nears the deadline to convince the town's last holdout, local bookstore owner Henry Janeway, to approve the building of massive, half a mile high Milliennium Gate, a model for the first colony on Mars.

I must say I'm really excited about '11:59' - it's a pity I'll still have to wait two years before the episode makes its way to Europe :-(. The full press release also contains a full list of the guest stars and the creative staff (including the interesting info that Trek casting director Ron Surma will be directing). You can find it by going here.

A lot of people saw Seven Days Wednesday night and were surprised when they didn't see Scarlett. Let me offer a word of explaination. Due the subject matter of the episode Scarlett worked on, and in light of the recent tragedy in Colorado, the episode was not aired this week. Scarlett and her family fully understand and support the network's decision to pull the episode. There is a good chance the episode will be aired at a later date, and will certainly keep you all posted. Scarlett and her family offer a sincere apology to everyone who was disappointed not to have seen Scarlett this week and they extend thier thanks for everyone's continued support.

Although sad news for fans of Scarlett, this is certainly understandable. Fortunately, there also is some good news available for fans of Trek's youngest star:

Scarlett was just offered a role in Erin Brockovich, starring Julia Roberts. As information about this film becomes available, I will post it here.

And, of course, I will post it here as well. More on Scarlett can be found here.

The annual Hollywood Charity Horse Show, produced by Mr. Shatner, is dedicated solely to the helping of children. Some of the kids are handicapped physically, some emotionally, all are in need of help and we can bridge the space for them between the outside world and their world. Attending this event allows us to see Bill Shatner in a more personal way, and more importantly we can help the kids. Every penny raised at this event goes to the children's charities.

More info on this can be found at the official web site of the event, which is also maintained by the William Shatner Connection. The site contains a welcome message from Shatner, plus information on the actual event and the reasons behind it.

Robert Picardo's subtle, warm performance made it easy to feel for the Doctor, and Jeri Ryan gave an absolutely terrific performance of the awkwardness and unhappiness of early dating. I also loved hearing them sing again. This show demanded good comic timing - at the beginning, for instance, when Seven suggested that dating leads to procreation and the Doctor said "One thing at a time," then moments later he suggested that dating leads to marriage and she tossed his words back at him - both actors were admirably up to the task. I did have a few moments of unintentional howling laughter, like when Seven said she was feeling tense from her chronographic sequencer - does it never occur to her that her 4" heels might have something to do with it?

Robert Duncan McNeill directed this episode; I did not particularly like Paris herein, either condescending to Torres about her probable lack of driving skills nor lecturing the Doctor on love, but as a filmmaker his skills are quite admirable. And I must make note of Ethan Phillips playing the straight man to Tobin's wildness - lovely stuff. I must have The X-Files on the brain, however, because I kept thinking that it's a good thing Neelix didn't know enough to show the ambassador baseball. The Kati would never have left.

The overnight rating is in, and Voyager did MUCH better than monday ..... it improved to a 5.5/8. Voyager was 6th for the hour behind WBs Charmed that only got 0.1 more!
A final rating would be around 3.5 - 3.9, so we are back to Voyagers normal rating!

Stage 18 is almost clear except for the "hell" planet set. Stage 4 and 17 are being taken apart, however contrary to what was said elsewhere last week, many parts of the Ops and Promenade are going to be saved.

I have to tell you it's really a sad day. However SOME of the sets -if not a large part of them - are going to be saved and are already starting to be packed up.

The report then continues with a 'fact sheet' detailing the different stages of deconstruction all the sets are in (Infirmary and Odo's office gone from the Promenade, together with all the Okudagrams, etc.), but also contains info from both the new insider and Glen himself on DS9's future:

More discussion on another series - some people don't feel that Berman will be able to hold out two years with only VOYAGER on the air...

((Glen Note: I have heard some separate indication that Berman may not be able to take-on another series right now due to several issues, not the least of which is...simply...being tired as hell. This might result in the franchise being handed over to someone else, with Berman assuming a less hands-on, more "detached, supervisory" capacity. NOT FOR CERTAIN, so don't take this to the bank...))

I certainly hope this won't turn out to be true, as we could probably kiss the whole franchise goodbye without Berman. Let's hope he stays on. More on this can be read in the full report.

Gen13: Netherwar, my first novel, written with my good friend Chris Golden is
on sale now, or thereabouts. Copies arrived in my store today, and hopefully
are arriving in a store in your neighborhood right now.

It's cheap. It's fun. Mysterious Galaxy's newsletter, The Plot Thickens,
called it "a kick-ass horror novel disguised as a superhero book," or
something like that. And yeah, I'm married to the reviewer, so take it with
a grain of salt. But that's what we were trying for, and I'd like to think
we came close.

You don't have to know who Gen13 are to enjoy the book... but if you do know
who they are, you'll be one up on your neighbors when the Gen13 movies are
released by Disney.

After a bit of searching, I found the below description of the novel at Amazon:

Fairchild. Grunge. Rainmaker. Burnout. Freefall.

Five teenagers brought together by the covert ops organization I/O to be the next generation of super-powered operatives: Gen13. Unwilling to be I/O's pawns, Gen13 escaped their clutches with the help of renegade I/O agent John Lynch.
Now they must stop their creators from gaining access to the demonic power of the Hellgate--and possibly from destroying the world as well!

Although, obviously, the novel itself isn't Trek-related, you might want to learn about Jeff Mariotte's writing style if you're interested in the Star Trek comics line. The book should be available at every good bookstore, though it can also be purchased online by visiting this Amazon page (which is where I also found the cover image.) If you're not sure yet you want to buy the whole novel, a short excerpt can be found here.

Also, don't forget that in May we'll be launching a Q&A forum here at TrekToday where you will be able to ask questions to Jeff about pretty much anything Trek-related! Meanwhile, you can still find the short interview we had with Jeff Mariotte by going here.

Michelle Erica Green at Mania has put up her review of the latest DS9 episode, 'The Changing Face Of Evil,' which she liked rather a lot:

I wasn't expecting to like this episode because the preview showed lots of battle footage. Actually, I think the preview showed every second of battle footage that appeared in the episode. It was short, it was ugly, and that made it much more exciting than a long drawn-out special-effects-fest would have been; one shot and the Defiant is GONE! Not a dramatic death like the various Enterprises have suffered or even Voyager in repeated alternate-timeline explosions, just a matter-of-fact crisis and the crew survives only by the grace of the Founder's decision to let them go home and stew in their fear. That sounded like a pretty silly decision when she made it - nothing's as scary as a total fatality report - but she couldn't have known what Demar was planning, while Starfleet at least suspected and the Cardassians already knew.

Find more in the full review, which also includes a detailed synopsis of the episode.

Star Trek Stars Play CricketChristian (10:56 am CST)Proving that the world is indeed coming to an end, AnotherUniverse's Daily Buzz is reporting that several Star Trek stars (including Patrick Stewart [Jean-Luc Picard] and Colm Meaney [Miles O'Brien]) will be participating in a charity celebrity cricket match:

Several Star Trek stars will participate along with other prominent British entertainers in a charity celebrity cricket match. The Lord's Taverners will play the Los Angeles Social Cricket Alliance; the celebrity team will include Patrick Stewart and Colm Meaney as well as lyricist Tim Rice and Eric Idle of Monty Python's Flying Circus. The event will take place at Woodley Cricket Field in Van Nuys. E-mail lasca@earthlink.net for more information.

In case you were wondering, cricket is what could easily be called the Most Boring Game in the world. Not surprisingly, it was invented by the English.

This report is pretty simple: "Juggernaut" did very, very, very, very badly. The episode, due almost entirely to its underpromoted special timeslot, crashed to Voyager's worst in-season rating ever (including reruns) to a 1.7 rating, 3 share. That's down from everything this year including last week's rerun of "Timeless." It's also down from last year's episode that aired this week.

Not surprising anyone, Voyager finished 6th in its timeslot. The WB's "Rescue 77" was the closest to Voyager's abysmal mark. In addition, the episode failed to even finish as the #1 UPN show that night, falling below "Dilbert"'s 2.0/3 rating.

Hopefully this'll inspire Paramount to never ever move Voyager to a Monday again - many people I spoke with (including the webmaster of a rather large Star Trek site) didn't even *know* UPN would be airing two Voyager episodes this week, and if even the die-hard Trekkers didn't know that, how could the rest of the public?

Unfortunately, last week's 'Timeless' didn't do that well, either:

"Timeless" didn't do quite as well as expected given its overnight, but still crusied to a 2.6 rating, ranking 99th. That's flat from the last two weeks of reruns and on the season average for reruns. This week last year, a firstrun episode was airing, so no comparisons can be drawn there.

[...]

This is a fairly disappointing mark for Voyager, but only because "Timeless" was a more successful episode in its first showing. On the whole, it was an average performance. Because this was probably one of the easiest ways to inform people of "Juggernaut"'s special time, "Juggernaut"'s utter failure can be pinned on this lower rating to at least a limited extent.

Happy Birthday Kate Mulgrew!Christian (10:56 am CST)Today is the birthday of Kate Mulgrew, the actress who has been starring on Star Trek Voyager as Captain Janeway for the past five years. Before Voyager, she starred on several other series, including 'Heartbeat' and 'Man of the People,' though she has also appeared on feature films such as 'Love Spell: Isolt of Ireland,' 'A Stranger is Watching' and the rather hilarious 'Throw Momma from the Train.' Mulgrew has two sons, Ian and Alexander, and married just a few weeks ago to politician Tim Hagan. More on Mulgrew can be found in her biography at the official Continuum.

Today on TVChristian (10:55 am CST)-Today, the Sci-Fi Channel will begin its third run of the Original Series with the showing of 'The Cage' - which has apparently been cut down to fit into *one* hour! The episode airs at 7:00pm and at 11:00pm. Starting next Monday, they'll begin with the regular episodes, which they're now describing as 'Star Trek - Syndie Version.'

-In the UK, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'The Storyteller' at 17:00 BST and at 23:30 BST. At 18:00 BST, BBC Two will, erm, also be showing 'The Storyteller,' as the two stations have apparently caught up with each other.

-Come aboard the The U.S.S. Elite NX-78846. Have a look in the cargo bay for great downloads. Go to the bridge and find out about the ship or go to the Holodeck and take part in a holonovel. Loads more stuff. Come and have a look.

Hello World!Christian (10:52 am CST)Directly after posting the first batch of news, I'll be going away for a few hours, so the next wave of news items won't appear until about 19:30 CET / 12:30 CST.

Wednesday April 28, 1999

'11:59' Trailers 'Available'Christian (2:40 pm CST)
If you're lucky, that is, as both Vidiot and Star Trek Interactive! are virtually unreachable at the moment. If you're really lucky, though, you will be able to download Vidiot's trailer
here, and STI's trailer here. The usual differences still apply - Vidiot's trailers have a better image quality, but are also somewhat larger, while STI's trailers are somewhat smaller, but load faster. Also, Vidiot doesn't currently have screencaps from the trailers available, so if you just want the still images you'll have to visit STI.

In any case, whichever site you decide on, good luck trying to download ;-).

MALE DEMOGRAPHIC PLOY OF THE WEEK: Funny how, with five characters on the Mylar garbage scow, only B'Elanna wound up having to strip down to a form-fitting tank top. I guess a plot-logical outfit like, say, an environment suit wasn't flattering enough, even though it could have kept her from hacking every other minute.

At this weekend's Grand Slam Convention in Pasadena, California, actress Barbara Luna showed off her advanced copies of the upcoming Kay-Bee "Mirror, Mirror" Exclusives, Security Chief Sulu, and Lt. Marlena Moreau, the character she portrayed in the classic episode.

The final rating for Voyagers rerun of Timeless is in, and Voyager didn't do as well as I first thought. It got a 2.6/6, and was nr. 99 along with two WB shows. Voyager was 6th for the hour, behind WBs Charmed that got a 3.2.
This is not good for the May sweeps, but I am prety sure that the ratings will pick up soon. (B.t.w. May sweeps begin thursday)

The UPN Thursday Night Movie: Dying to Live that starred TNGs Jonathan Frakes got a 1.5 and was nr. 116. That is normal for a UPN movie, but low when you think that Jonathan Frakes starred in it.

What's the bottom line on "Strange Bedfellows"? Oh, I don't know. It's certainly another compelling outing with plenty more setup. But it lacks a little of something--perhaps the emotional cohesion of a truly confident story--to arrive at greatness. Here exists an hour that moves like a blur. An entertaining blur.

De (aka Dr 'Bones' McCoy) had to cancel his scheduled appearance at the the Grand Slam convention in Pasadena yesterday after being admitted to hospital on the 23rd of April. There is no official word on De's condition. Brent Spiner graciously agreed to appear in De's place at the convention.

Certainly this was bound to happen eventually (the original cast isn't getting any younger, either), but it's still very sad news. Let's hope Kelley recovers soon.

Planet Riker is also reporting that a few more people made unannounced appearances at Grand Slam, namely Alice Krige (the Borg Queen), John DeLancie (Q) and Cecily Adams (Moogie). Find more here.

AGAIN - there really are some HUGE spoilers to be found below - click here to avoid.

First of all, KJB, webmaster of the superb Backstage Pass, mailed me to let me know that the Section 31 director, Sloane, will die in the episode 'Extreme Measures' (which is also when a cure will be discovered for the Founder disease). Backstage Pass appears to have several inside contacts at Paramount, so this could very well be true. More info on this will undoubtedly become available at Backstage Pass when the site is updated again, but for now I'm happily enjoying the first-ever TrekToday exclusive ;-).

Secondly, Dark Horizons has posted some new info on 'What You Leave Behind,' the series finale. Be aware that this is just gossip they overheard at a recent Trek convention, but it is rather interesting:

Due to public outcry, the intended death of Odo has been cancelled though he does have to make "a great sacrifice" of some sort. In fact all of the major crew will be alive in the final frame, including Sisko - seems Avery Brooks found the idea of Sisko dying and becoming a 'prophet' offensive to the African-American community and so the writers have changed the character's fate at Brooks' request. Various supporting characters will be killed, though its not known which ones. Whereas 'The Next Generation' ended with Picard and the crew playing poker, DS9 will end with the crew in the 'Vic Fontaine' holoprogram dancing or sitting. Many of the writers and staff of the show will be in the final shot as the other audience members in the program.

I have to say I find this very disappointing. Sisko joining the Prophets would have been an extremely powerful ending, and I find it hard to see why Brooks found this offensive to the African-American community - surely becoming a half-God can hardly be considered offensive? Secondly, this ending sounds extremely anti-climactic - surely they could have come up with something better than Vic Fontaine?

In any case, more on this can be found by going here, which is also where you'll find some info on the upcoming episode "When It Rains...' Included with that is this picture of the episode, which also shows that according to Starfleet, Kira's rank of Colonel translated to a Commander in Starfleet.

Remember that all this should just be considered as rumours, and haven't been confirmed anywhere yet. Thanks go out to Gustavo Leao for the Dark Horizons bit.

Again, this is your last chance to avoid being spoiled - click here to be transported to the next article.

Gustavo Leao sends along word that, according to the Star Trek Cmmunicator, Barry Jenner (DS9, Admiral Ross) has signed on to
bring his character over to Voyager for a guest appearance. Warp Eleven is speculating that this could very well be the upcoming 'Relativity,' as that is the only episode currently known to include a Starfleet admiral, and I'd say that is indeed a likely possibility. In case you want to know more about 'Relativity,' don't forget that we received this synopsis a few weeks ago from an anonymous source.

This episode is in an odd position, airing out of its usual timeslot as a special. As is often the case with such moves, "Juggernaut"'s rating suffered, falling to a wretched 3.2 rating, 4 share. That is actually down from last week's rerun of "Timeless" and should set a new all-time low rating for Voyager.

[...]

While this rating is, in a word, retched, it's also essentially meaningless. It aired in a special timeslot and was under-promoted. The performance of this show should have very little bearing on how this Wednesday's episode will perform.

Let's hope Paramount never ever decides to move the show to a different timeslot again. Find more in the full report.

Honors have been profuse for East of Hope Street, an independent feature depicting one young woman's struggle that was co-written, produced by and stars Tim Russ ("Tuvok" on ST:VOY).
Russ executive-produced the film, which he co-wrote and co-produced with Nate Thomas, who directed.

The film is already gathering awards all over the place, a full list of those can be found by going here.

Robinson [(Andrew) the actor who plays him] has turned Garak into his own cottage industry. Inspired by his convention appearances, he's writing a book of Garak's memoirs to be published
by Pocket Books.

Later on, Pocket Books editor Marco Palmieri confirmed that this book was indeed in development, and that the editor assigned to the project is Margaret Clark. No release date has been set yet.

When this episode began, I was like, "Yay, it's a B'Elanna episode!" She's just not showcased enough these days, which is a shame -- for my money, she's "Voyager's" most interesting, dynamic character. Unfortunately, this ep once again falls victim to the classic "Voyager" problem -- good premise, half-assed follow-through. It's like that time you had a really brilliant idea for your 5th grade science fair project, then just couldn't bring yourself to do the work (at least you got that "certificate of participation," right?).

In the end, Kuhn awards the episode 3 out of 5 stars, which is still generous compared to her usual ratings for Voyager. Find the full review here.

In anticipation of the magazine's release, a party was held on the Paramount lot with guests such as John deLancie [Q], Tim Russ [Tuvok], Nichelle Nichols [Uhura], Marina Sirtis [Troi], Chase Masterson [Leeta] and Ira Steven Behr [DS9 Executive Producer], to name a few. STAR TREK:CONTINUUM has gained access to exclusive photos from the party.

One of those pictures, on which Chase Masterson is showing us some gagh, I've reprinted here, but for the others you'll have to read the full article.

You'd almost start thinking that Mania's Michelle Erica Green is a regular TrekToday visitor, as her Daily Buzz is also reporting that Kate Mulgrew and Jeri Ryan might want to leave Voyager, while some DS9 staff members want to join the show. Besides that, the Daily Buzz talks about a new report published by 'Jam! Showbiz,' which lists all the known spoilers for DS9's 'What You Leave Behind' in three categories - 'Believable,' 'Interesting Hearsay' and 'Not Bloodely Likely.' I'm not sure how reliable this list is (The Defiant being destroyed is called 'not bloodely likely'), but you can find it by going here.

'Timeless' Top-Rated UPN ShowChristian (12:43 pm CST)According to a report from Nielsen Media Research, last week's rerun of Voyager's 'Timeless' was the top-rated UPN show, which tied at No. 99 with WB reruns of ``Unhappily Ever After'' and ``The Wayans Bros.'' Find the full report here.

Today On TVChristian (12:42 pm CST)
-Tonight at 9:00pm, UPN will be showing Voyager's 'Someone To Watch Over Me,' directed by Robert Duncan McNeill (Tom Paris). Take a look at the official Paramount description, which I found at the Continuum:

To broaden her knowledge of human behavior, Seven of NIne gets lessons from The Doctor on socializing and dating rituals. When they enter a holodeck simulation in Sandrine's nightclub, Seven not only learns the art of small talk, but how to slow dance and sing a song. Eventually, she makes a date with Lieutenant Lansing but it's The Doctor who falls in love with Seven. Meanwhile, during a tour to help facilitate a trade agreement with the monastic Kadi colony, Neelix unwittingly provides their ambassador, Tomin, with forbidden food an drink.

Note that the above image is, of course, copyrighted by Paramount.
-The Sci-Fi Channel completes its second run of the Original Series with the airing of 'Turnabout Intruder,' the series' final episode. The episode aires at 7:00pm and is repeated at 11:00pm.

-Tonight at 17:00 BST, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Battle Lines.' At 18:00 BST, BBC Two will be showing TNG's 'Relics,' the episode in which Scotty visits the Enterprise. At 23:30, Sky One will be repeating 'Battle Lines' again. Tomorrow, Sky will be showing DS9's 'The Storyteller' at 17:00 and at 23:30.

-In Germany, Sat.1 will be repeating the sixth-season TNG episode 'Der Feuersturm' tomorrow at 02:00 CET in the morning. At 15:00 tomorrow, they'll be showing 'Das fehlende Fragment' (The Chase)

Trek BBS TodayChristian (12:42 pm CST)With 92 registered members, the Trek BBS is rapdily approaching the 'magic 100' - and that isn't even counting all the unregistered posters! Take a look at some of the very interesting current discussions:

-In this thread you can talk about your favourite Voyager episodes - now we just need to have a 'Favourite TOS episodes' listing and we're complete ;-).

-Fortunately some discussion is actually taking place in this thread - do you also think there should be a gay character on Trek?

And, of course, you're free to add your own new topics to the Trek BBS - no registration is necessary!

New at TrekSeek.comChristian (12:41 pm CST)1031 Star Trek links is what can now be found at TrekSeek, our Star Trek search engine. Take a look at two of the six new sites that were submitted to us yesterday:

-Nicole deBoer | Obsessive Attitudes is a regularly updated Nicole deBoer news page, which also includes a deBoer 'TV Watch,' an appearance list, a filmography, articles and interviews, and much more! Definitely worth checking out!

-Backstage Pass is one of those incredible sites you find while surfing the internet, and then absolutely fall in love with. Over the past few weeks, the site has often been a TrekToday news source, and has often provided the net with all-new rumours. Very highly recommended!

All the other new sites that were added yesterday can be found by going here.

Hello World!Christian (12:41 pm CST)As a reminder to all of you, TrekToday isn't just updated all at once. Instead, I usually compile about a dozen news stories, post all of them at the same time, and then continue to collect and post more news. This also means that if you visit the site just after I've done my first update, you're missing out on a lot of news if you don't check back later on.

Yesterday, for instance, I posted about a Brent Spiner report, about new Voyager spoilers, about the very first motion picture by Jeri Ryan, and lots, lots more - all after I had done my first update. Also, I updated the 'Jeri Ryan & Kate Mulgrew Leaving Voyager' story after the wonderful Heather Jarman sent me some extra info on that matter.

In other words, if you visit early on the day, I'd suggest you check back later on, or just get accustomed to viewing the news from the previous day everyday you get online. Believe me, it's worth it - otherwise you'd be missing out on a *lot* of news!